Raindrops on Roses
by Spring-Raindrop
Summary: It doesn't take long for Lily Rain to befriend the Weasley twins during her first year at Hogwarts. When she discovers a terrible secret about herself, will they be able to help her? Or will they turn their backs on their best friend?
1. Chapter 1

"Uncle Charles," Lily asked hesitantly as she held her Hogwarts letter closely to her chest, "where exactly is platform nine and three-quarters?"

Her uncle chuckled. His grey eyes twinkled with amusement. "I'll show you soon enough."

Lily wasn't surprised at his response. She had been living with her uncle ever since her mother had died when she was a baby. Without a father, she had nowhere else to go. Charles was normally reserved and spoke very little. Lily assumed it came from being one of the best known wizard lawyers of his time.

No matter how little he said to her, Lily had learned to hear the unsaid words in his eyes. Those grey blue eyes held all of the things that she thought he would say. When he was angry, they would burn into her, and when he was happy they would light up with excitement.

Of course, she really didn't need to see his eyes to know what he was thinking. Lily, since she was very young, had shown signs of being special. She first realized she was different at the age of four, when she proudly marched into the room announcing that she looked just like her mother had. As she was only a month old when her mother had died, and at that point had never seen any pictures of her mother. Charles had to assume that Lily had discovered that truth by another means, and he was correct. Lily could, in fact, read people's minds.

It wasn't an ability she exercised very often. Lily was a very polite girl, and greatly respected other people's privacy.

"Here we are." Lily pulled her cart full of school supplies to a halt as her uncle stopped directly in front of a pillar of bricks. On her left was platform 9 and on her right was number 10.

"You ready?" He asked Lily, taking her hand. She nodded, butterflies rising up in her stomach. She was really here, starting her first year at Hogwarts.

Charles took a quick look around to make sure none of the muggles were watching. He then started forward. Lily caught flashes of images showing him as a young boy, running through the barrier for the first time. That was the only thing that prepared her for what was coming. Squeezing her eyes shut, Lily gave a final push, expecting to collide with the wall.

She felt a tug on her arm, and she opened her eyes. In front of her was a large scarlet train. There were people all along the platform. Parents saying a final goodbye to their children and students eagerly scanning the crowd for familiar faces.

"Have a good term sweetheart," Charles said as he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. Lily giggled softly as his fluffy grey mustache tickled her smooth skin.

As she walked over to the train she heard him call out to her. "Don't forget to write!"

Lily turned and waved. "I promise. Every week."

Charles smiled and walked over to stand by the iron gate that had replaced the barrier she had run through earlier.

Placing a firm hand on her luggage, Lily stepped onto the train. As she walked through the hallway outside of the compartments, she noticed that quite a few of them were filled already. She glanced at her watch. 10:55. 5 minutes until the train left. She walked past many filled compartments until she found one that was almost vacant.

There was a young black haired boy, sitting by the window. He was looking out, watching a family of red haired boys saying goodbye to their mother and younger sister.

"Excuse me," Lily said. The boy looked up at her and smiled. "Do you mind if I sit here with you?"

"Not at all."

Lily smiled and lifted her trunk up so that it was sitting on the shelf over top of her head. She sat down across from the boy and stuck out her hand.

"My name's Lily. Lily Rain."

"Harry Potter."

Lily was surprised, but repressed it. She guessed that this boy had been stared at constantly for the past few days and didn't want to add to his discomfort.

"Are you excited to be going to Hogwarts?" she asked Harry, wanting to strike up a conversation.

Harry smiled. "Very much so. Anything to get away from my aunt, uncle, and cousin."

"You live with your aunt and uncle too?" Lily asked curiously. She knew that the boy's parents had been killed by Lord Voldemort, but she hadn't been aware of the fact that he had been living with his aunt and uncle for the past 10 years.

"Yeah. Ever since my parents died. Why do you live with yours?"

"My mom died when I was little too. And I don't know who my father is. He and my mother never got married. Uncle Charles was the only one I had left."

The two were interrupted as a red haired boy walked opened the compartment door.

"Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full." He asked.

"Come on in," Lily told him. The boy sat down in the seat next to her. He looked as if he were about to say something, but he was interrupted by two older red haired boys. They looked so similar that Lily was sure they had to be twins.

"Hey Ron. Listen, we're going down to the other end of the train. Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there" one of the twins said.

"Right," Ron murmured.

"Harry," the other one said. "Did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother."

"Who's this Ron?" the one named George asked as he noticed Lily for the first time.

"I don't know George." Ron huffed, clearly annoyed with his older brothers. "I just sat down."

Lily smiled. "Lily Rain."

"Well, Miss Rain," Fred said giving bow, "Would you care to accompany us?"

Lily glanced back at Harry and Ron. Ron nodded ever so slightly. Lily saw that he really wanted his brothers to leave and knew they wouldn't leave him alone with her still in the compartment.

Lilly turned back and giggled. She stood up and offered her hand to Fred. "It would be my pleasure."

Fred took her hand and kissed it lightly and George followed suit. They led her out of the compartment and down the hallway.

"I'm assuming I would be correct in saying that you are a first year?" Fred asked her.

Lily nodded. "You would be. And seeing as your younger brother is a first year as well and you two look a bit older than he is, I'm probably safe in saying that the pair of you are third years."

"Ah, Fred, I believe we have ourselves a little smartypants here."

"Yes George. It seems that we do. Most likely she'll be sorted into Ravenclaw."

"Pitty." Lily commented. "I was so hoping to be in Slytherin. It's the best house there is."

Lily had noticed the two were proud Gryffindors and she was not surprised when they turned to her in shock.

"And we thought you were alright!" Fred exclaimed.

"Tsk tsk tsk. A slytherin all along. We cant be seen with you." George had caught on to her charade. His eyes twinkled as he spoke. "It will ruin our reputation."

"And what reputation is that?" Lily asked.

"Why only the bravest-"

"Handsomest-"

"Smartest Gryffindors"

"Of all time!" the two finished together.

Lily laughed as the two puffed out their chests as if to show how wonderful they were.

Fred and George joined in with her until the three could barely breathe.

"Lee'll probably be wondering where the heck we've gone to."

Lily remained with the two boys for the majority of the train ride. She was introduced to their best friend Lee, who reminded her a lot of someone from Jamaica. She was also introduced to Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell, all who were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

When there was approximately 15 minutes left of the train ride, Lily bid her new friends goodbye and went to retrieve her school robe from her suitcase.

She passed by three boys leaving the compartment Harry and Ron were in. The blonde haired boy sneered at her and angrily shoved her to the side. Brushing it off, Lily entered the compartment.

A girl with frizzy brown hair was just inside the door talking to the two boys.

The tree turned around to look at Lily as she reached up and removed her trunk from the shelf.

"What's your name?" the frizzy haired girl asked.

"Lilly," she responded as she grabbed her robes.

"Mine's Hermione. You can come change in my compartment if you want. Everyone else is gone at the moment."

Lily thanked Hermione and followed her to the new compartment. She quickly changed into her new uniform and waited patiently until Harry let her back into the compartment.

Her heart leapt as the train slowed to a stop. Barely containing her excitement, Lily rushed to the door. She almost ran into Fred and George, who were standing outside of the compartment door.

"We just wanted to let you know that you'd better get sorted into Gryffindor." George said.

"If not, we cant be friends with you anymore."

Lily smiled, knowing that they were only pulling her leg, but still. What if she wasn't in Gryffindor?

Shaking off her growing anxiety, Lily followed the twins out of the train, ready to begin her first year at Hogwarts.

***

Disclaimer: Any of the characters you recognize are the property of J. K. Rowling. I own the ones you've never heard of. :)

Let me know what you think of the story so far.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The first thing she heard was a loud voice calling the first years over. She turned and saw an enormous man with a bushy brown beard.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

"Hagrid!" Lily heard Harry exclaim excitedly. She made her way over to where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing.

Hagrid led the group of first years over to the lake where rows of small boats were bobbing up and down in the water.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid told them. Lily clambered in right behind Harry and Ron. Hermione sat down next to her. Once everyone was situated, Hagrid called out and the little boats started moving forward, towards the castle in the distance. Lily could feel her excitement growing as each minute brought her closer to her new home.

Finally they reached the other side. Lily followed as the giant led them up to a large set of double doors. He raised his fist and banged loudly, three times.

A middle aged witch with long emerald robes and a tall pointed hat opened the doors. She stared at the group with a stern face.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid said.

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Thank you Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She turned around and led the first years into the building. Lily looked around. The enterance hall was huge! The ceiling was high above her, and directly in front of her was a large, grand staircase.

Lily's attention was drawn to another set of double doors to her right. She could hear the murmur of hundreds of voices. No doubt the other students were already seated at their tables, awaiting the arrival of the first years.

McGonagall started to welcome the students to Hogwarts. Lily listened as she gave a short speech about the different houses. She then instructed them to wait until she came back to get them.

As soon as she entered the Great Hall, the whispering started. Lily presumed they were all talking about how they would be sorted into the four different houses.

Several students jumped as a flurry of ghosts appeared above them. Murmurs of surprise and wonder spread through the group. Lily remained silent as the ghosts greeted them and floated through the door.

Professor McGonagall returned at that moment and ordered them to make a line. The students quickly obliged and followed her into the Great Hall.

Lily stared in awe as she saw the room laid out before her. There were four long tables, each with their own banner hanging above. There were thousands of tiny candles floating above their heads and a clear, dark sky shone through the clear ceiling.

"It's bewitched to look like the night sky." Hermione whispered to her. "I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History_."

Lily watched as Professor McGonagall placed a four legged stool on the floor in front of the group of first years. On it was an old wizards hat.

Reaching into McGonagall's mind, Lily almost laughed out loud. All of the students were getting worked up about the sorting ceremony, and all they had to do was put on a hat!

Lily listened impatiently as the hat began to sing. Once the hat was done and the applause had died down, McGonagall began to call out their names.

A blonde haired girl was called first: Hannah Abbot. Lily watched as she nervously walked up to the stool and sat down. The entire room was silent as they anxiously awaited the hat's reply.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

A roar of applause erupted from the Hufflepuff table as Hannah hopped down and went to join her new house.

Lily watched as, one by one, each student was placed in a house. Sometimes the hat was quick in deciding, and others it took a long time.

She was very excited to see that Hermione had been placed in Gryffindor. She liked Hermione, despite the fact that she seemed to be quite a know-it-all.

"Potter, Harry." The room grew silent. Everyone's eyes were glued on the young boy as the hat was placed on his head.

What seemed like ages later, the hat finally called out "GRYFFINDOR!" Harry walked shakily over to the Gryffindor table as the table erupted into cheers. The loudest yet. Lily smiled as Fred and George stood up and shouted "We got Potter!" over and over again at the top of their lungs.

They only quieted down when McGonagall glared pointedly at them. Once everyone had sat back down, the sorting resumed.

"Rain, Lily."

Lily took a deep breath and sat down on the stool. The hat was placed on her head and she was unable to see the people in front of her anymore.

The hat had barely touched her head when it shouted out "SLYTHERIN!"

Lily's heart sunk. She slowly got off the stool to a chorus of shouts from the Slytherin table. The blonde haired boy, Draco, scooted over to make a place for her. Before she sat down, Lily glanced over at the Gryffindor table. She caught George's eye and saw his saddened expression. He and Fred had wanted her to be in their house as much as she did.

"Slytherin's by far the best house there is," Draco whispered to her as the clapping quickly died down. "My family has been in it for generations. The Malfoys are a very noble family you know…"

At that point, Lily tuned him out. She really didn't feel like listening to him brag about how _wonderful_ the Malfoy family was.

As the last person, Blaise Zabini, was sorted into Slytherin, Albus Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome." His voice echoed off the walls. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

"Thank you."

Lily laughed and joined in with the rest of the students as they clapped and cheered. She heard Draco mumble something to the boy next to him, but Lily didn't care. She heard her stomach rumble and realized that it had been hours since the last time she had eaten.

The once empty plates were filled with food as Lily turned around. She quickly piled her plate high with mashed potatoes, roast beef, and green beans.

Draco smirked but Lily took no notice. She listened to the conversation around her. Pansy Parkinson and Millicint Bulstrode, two of the first years that were sorted with her, seemed to be getting along pretty well. They were currently talking about the multitude of different things they had done that summer.

Blaise, who had sat down on the other side of Lily, turned his attention to her.

"The name's Blaise. You're Lily right?"

Lily nodded. "That's me."

"My mother works with your father, Charles. Apparently they've worked on quite a few cases together."

Lily swallowed the bite of beans she was chewing on before she corrected him. "Charles is my uncle, not my father."

"Really?" Blaise sounded surprised. "How is it you have the same last name? I wasn't aware that he had any brothers."

"Well, my mom was his sister. She died when I was really young, and since no one knew who my father was, I got sent to live with my uncle."

"He was probably a muggle by the looks of it," Pansy sneered, jumping into the onversation.

Lily shrugged, "That'd be alright with me. I don't care who he is. It would be nice to know, to be able to talk to him for a little bit."

"I'm sure he was a great wizard," Draco cut in. "Otherwise you wouldn't have been put into Slytherin."

Lily took an opportunity to look up at the staff table. A pale wizard with greasy black hair and a crooked nose was looking in the direction of their table. She leaned over and asked Draco who he was.

"That's professor Snape. He's the potions professor and Head of the Slytherin House. My father told me that he's an excellent teacher."

Professor Dumbledore stood up at that moment, cutting Draco off from whatever he was going to say.

The hall fell silent and Lily listened attentively as the professor made a few announcements. The ones about the fForbidden Forest being off limits and about not using magic in the corridors seemed pretty obvious, but she was curious as to why Dumbledore would tell them to stay away from the third floor corridor. She was tempted to search his mind for the reasoning behind the statement, but decided that he knew what was best for the students. If they needed to know what was going on, he would tell them. It was as simple as that.

The feast ended with the whole hall singing the school song. Many different melodies were chosen as well as different keys. The song finally ended with the Weasley twins singing a duet to a slow funeral march. Lily laughed as Dumbledore took out his wand and directed their last few notes.

George flashed her a grin and she smiled back. Maybe she could still be friends with the brothers, despite the fact that they said they would never speak to her if she was sorted into Slytherin.

Lily stood up with the rest of the Slytherin first years and followed one of the prefects out of the Great Hall. The group was led down into the dungeons, where their common room was. Lily shivered. The air was noticeably colder down here than it had been upstairs.

They stopped in front of a bare stone wall. The prefect they had been following cleared his throat and spoke loudly and clearly, "Parseltongue"

A stone door which had been concealed in the wall opened and Lily followed the group in. The common room was green in color, which Lily had half expected. There were green lights dangling from the ceiling. She descended the steps until she reached the bottom of the room. A fireplace was to her right and there was a long hallway off to her left.

"Down there are the girls dormitories. Up at the top of the stairs, to the left as you walk in are the boys. Your luggage has already been placed in your rooms."

Lilly smiled politely at the prefect and followed Pansy, Millicint, and another girl she didn't know down the hallway. The last door on their left was for the first year students.

Inside the room were four, four poster beds. The covers and curtains were a deep green color. A green and silver tie and scarf had been laid neatly on their beds. Lily sat down on hers which was to the right of the door as she walked in.

"One bathroom for the four of us. That should be interesting." The girl Lily didn't know remarked.

"Does anyone want it now? I was hoping to take a shower tonight."

"Go ahead." Millicent grunted as she laid down on her bed.

Lily dug through her trunk for a pair of pajamas and her showering supplies. She walked into the bathroom and locked the door.

The shower was nice and hot. Lily felt refreshed as she climbed out and dressed herself. When she got out of the bathroom she notices that her trunk had been unpacked already.

"Sorry if you wanted to do it yourself, but I figured I would give you a hand. My name's Daphne by the way."

"Thanks," Lily murmured. She climbed into her bed and snuggled under the covers. It wasn't long before the other girls had settled themselves. The room became pitch black except for an eerie green glow from the hallway as Pansy shut the lights out.

Lily sighed into her pillow. She hoped that the next day would be better than this one had been.

***

Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling, therefore I do not own Harry Potter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter number...3! The good news: I wrote this one pretty quickly. The bad news: This might be it for a day or two. Stupid band practice :( I'll try my hardest to update as fast as I possibly can, but I can only type so fast. That and I have homework to do. So sit back and enjoy, and don't forget to let me know what ya think!!! :)**

**oh yeah...I don't and never will own Harry Potter...but you already knew that**

Chapter 3

The next day, as well as the week to follow, was better than Lily had expected it to be. She discovered that she had both Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions with the Gryffindor first years. During their first DADA class, she made sure to sit by Hermione, so she wouldn't be alone.

In theory, DADA sounded like a fascinating class, and it probably would have been, had they had a competent teacher. Professor Quirrel was a timid man who couldn't complete a single sentence without stuttering. It made paying attention very difficult to do.

Transfiguration, to Lily's surprise, was one of her best classes. She had taken an instant liking to Professor McGonagall and had a feeling the professor liked her too. By the end of her first day, she was the only one in her class that had successfully transfigured their match into a needle. A task only she and Hermione had achieved in their year.

The first days of charms, Herbology, and History of Magic were filled with note taking. Something Lily found to be extremely boring. In those classes she spent the time daydreaming about how it might be like if she had been sorted into Gryffindor.

By far, her favorite class was Potions. The minute she walked into the classroom and sat down, Draco had taken the seat beside her. She wasn't too thrilled with that arrangement, but had little time to argue.

Professor Snape had her full attention as soon as he stepped into the room. He had a commanding air about him that made Lily think twice about confronting him, not that she ever would.

Snape began to take role and stopped when he reached Harry's name.

"Ah yes," he almost whispered, "Harry Potter-our new _celebrity_."

Draco snickered beside her. Lily resisted the urge to elbow him in the side. Getting into a fight in her first week would not be a good thing.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making." Snape's voice was soft, but he held the class's attention. "As there is little foolish wand waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses…I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death-if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Lily leaned forward in her seat, listening to his every word. She held his gaze as his obsidian eyes met her emerald ones.

"Potter!" Snape suddenly shouted. Lily almost jumped out of her seat. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

The look of complete confusion that crossed Harry's face as he looked to Ron for help was enough to clue in anyone that he had no idea what Snape was talking about.

_How does he expect us to know that?_ Lily wondered as Hermione's hand shot into the air.

"I don't know sir," Harry said.

Snape sneered as Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle snickered. "Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything."

Hermione started waving her hand a little more obnoxiously. Snape ignored her.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?"

Again, Harry didn't know.

After the third question, Lily was getting quite perturbed. What was the point of subjecting Harry to this kind of humiliation?

"Professor, sir?" Lily asked raising her hand.

"Yes Miss Rain?"

"Isn't that an unfair question, seeing as monkshood and wolfbane are the same thing? And can you really expect Harry to know all of those things if it's only our first day of class?"

Snape's eyebrows arched, clearly surprise at his student's audacity.

"You clearly know what I am talking about."

"Yes sir, but I happen to have a passion for potion making. Harry's never done it before."

With his attention redirected at her, Lily started to feel as nervous as Harry must have felt.

Snape's eyes narrowed, but Lily refused to look away.

"Let us see how deep this passion of yours is. All of you!" he snapped, causing the entire class to jump. "Pair off and start working on this." He flicked his wand and instructions for a potion to cure boils appeared on the blackboard.

"Mr. Malfoy, join with Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle. I want to see how well Miss Rain does."

Sure enough, an hour later, Lily had brewed a perfect potion. The same could not be said for her classmates. Neville had to be taken to the hospital wing when his potion promptly exploded ten minutes into the start of the potion making. Snape had deducted 2 points from Gryffindor, blaming Harry for not warning the boy about adding his porcupine quills.

Snape was silent for a while, staring at her potion with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Miss Rain, see me after class, and ten points to Slytherin."

The Gryffindors groaned and Malfoy and his goons looked smug.

After Lily had finished cleaning up her station, she walked over to Professor Snape's desk. The rest of the class had already vacated the room, leaving the two of them alone.

"You have far surpassed my expectations for you, Miss Rain. You even did better than that know-it-all, Miss Granger. If you should so desire, I would consent to giving you extra lessons twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday nights, to better your abilities at potion making."

Lily's eyes lit up. "Oh, Professor! Thank you so much!"

Snape nodded curtly. "I expect you to be here Tuesday night, promptly at eight. Lateness will not be tolerated."

"Yes sir."

Lily was surprised to find Hermione waiting for her outside the classroom.

"What did he want?" she asked curiously, "Did you get into trouble?"

"Please Hermione; Snape would never get a Slytherin into trouble. He offered to give me private potions lessons."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "You are so lucky." There was a hint of jealously in her voice.

"I suppose. I just hope he's not so bitter when it's just the two of us."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 done! Let me know what you think of the story. Are you enjoying it as much as I am? Sure hope so.

rettoP yrraH nwo ton od I :remialcsiD

Chapter 4

Tuesday evening couldn't come soon enough. The next day, being a Saturday, Lily expected to go by very slowly. She was proved to be wrong the moment she stepped into the Great Hall for breakfast.

Lily had gotten up a bit earlier than her dorm mates, to beat them to the bathroom. She had completely forgotten that it was a Saturday until she stepped out into the common room. It was vacant.

Figuring, since she was already dressed and ready to start the day, she decided to head down (or in her case up) to breakfast.

The dungeons were deserted. None of the houses ever ventured down there except for potions class. Lily shivered and hugged her arms to try and stay warm. On weekends, students weren't required to wear their uniforms, but Lily was quite fond of hers. Even though she had been sorted into Slytherin, she felt a sense of pride in being a part of this amazing school. It already felt like home to her. She couldn't imagine a place she would be happier to be.

A few students were walking into the Great Hall as she emerged from the dungeons. She walked up to a group of Ravenclaw girls who were standing by the doors. They gave her a dirty look as she passed them.

Lily had little time to get upset about their behavior, because as soon as she placed her foot inside the door, she was ambushed by a set if red haired twins.

Fred slung his arm around her shoulders and George slipped his hand around her waist. Before she could say anything, they led her off to the Gryffindor table.

"Look, we know that we said we'd never talk to you again if you were sorted into Slytherin, but-"

"We decided that we'll give you another chance-"

"If you can pass our three tests."

Lily tried her hardest not to laugh as the three of them sat down on the benches. Fred removed his arm from her, but George's remained. When she turned towards him, questioningly, he smiled.

"Precautionary measure of course," he said holding her a little bit tighter, "in case you decide to make a break for it."

"Naturally. It's only to be expected," she remarked as if it were common sense.

"Your first test is going to be on your observation skills-"

"Meaning that you have to guess which one of us is which."

Lily nodded. "No problem."

George laughed. "Confident are we? I wouldn't be so sure if I were you. Our mother can't even tell us apart, and she gave birth to us."

Lily smiled, but said nothing.

"Alrighty. Close your eyes, and no peeking. Hey Neville is it?" Neville came running over to them. "Come stand behind her and make sure she can't see.

Neville placed his hands over her eyes. Lily waited patiently as she felt George leave her side. All of a sudden Neville removed his hands and she could see again. The twins were standing in front of her, with identical smiles on their faces, confident that she couldn't tell the difference between them.

In truth, she couldn't. Not by just their appearances. She doubted anyone could tell the two apart, they were always together it just seemed natural to refer to them as one unit: Fred and George.

Luckily, she had a backup plan. A plan they knew nothing about.

She knew the twin on her right was George. She didn't even have to look into his mind in order to figure that out. He had a hint of nervousness in his eyes that Fred didn't appear to have. Just to make sure, she reached out and brushed her mind across theirs. Yup. She was right.

"Fred, George." She said, pointing to each of them in turn. They were shocked.

"Lucky guess." Fred grumbled, disappointed that he hadn't been able to pull the old switcheroo on her. "Do it again."

After three more times, Fred was finally convinced that she could, in fact, tell them apart.

"Alright," George said, leaping over the table to sit down next to her again. "Your next test is to make us laugh."

"And that's a pretty hard task, since we are the cause of the laughs around here."

Lily thought for a moment and smiled as something came to mind.

"Knock knock."

The twins gave each other puzzled looks, but answered together.

"Who's there?"

"You know."

They were very confused. "You know who?"

"Yup! Avada Kedavra!" Lily flicked her wand at them in a fancy manner.

Fred and George erupted into fits of laughter. Lily joined in and soon couldn't stop. Tears were streaming down her face and George actually toppled off the bench because he was laughing so hard. "I didn't mean to actually kill you George," she said, gasping for breath. This only caused the trio to laugh even harder.

"Ok, ok." Fred said. "I think you pass that test. Now onto the last one."

"You have to pull a prank on someone walking in here this morning."

"We'll rate you on how well the prank is performed and who it's performed on."

"The only rule is you can't get caught."

"Breakfast ends at 8:30, so get to it."

Lily already had an idea about what she wanted to do. She shot up from the table and raced, as fast as she could, out to the greenhouse. As she expected, no one was outside as she walked across the grounds and into the level one greenhouse. Inside were various harmless plants that Professor Sprout used to teach the first years.

Earlier that week, Lily had spotted a small garter snake on the floor by one of the windows. She was hoping that it would still be there. It was a harmless species of snake, but it would still give almost anyone a start when walking into the room.

"Hello?" Lily called, bending down to look under one of the tables. "Mr. Snake? Are you still here?"

She heard a rustling of leaves behind her and the snake emerged from a group of plants that she didn't recognize.

"I do have a name, you know. It's Marcus."

Both Lily and Marcus froze, completely in shock about what had just occurred.

"I can understand you?" the asked simultaneously.

Marcus came to his senses first. "My, my." He said. "In all my years, I never expected to hear a Parselmouth speak. I thought you had all gone extinct. What a rare and wondrous creature you are." He slithered closer to her, flicking out his tongue to get a better sense of her.

Lily giggled. "It's a pleasure to meet you too Marcus.

"What can I do for you, My Lady?" Marcus asked, bowing as well as a snake could.

"I need some help with a prank." Lily explained her situation as Marcus listened intently.

When she had finished, Marcus nodded his head. "I can assist you." He leaned in and whispered something in her ear.

"Yes!" Lily exclaimed. "That's perfect! I'll meet you back here in ten minutes then."

Marcus nodded and slid down the table. Lily exited the room and made her way down to Hagrid's hut.

Hagrid was kneeling outside in his pumpkin patch outside of his house when Lily approached.

"Oh, Hello ther'. What can I do fer yeh, Lily is it?"

"Yes, how did you know my name?"

Hagrid chuckled. "Harry and Ron talk a lot about yeh. They came down yesterday evenin' ter visit fer a while. Heard yeh was sorted inter Slytherin. It's a shame, Gryffindor woulda been lucky ter have yeh."

Lily smiled sweetly. "Thank you Hagrid. By any chance do you have a bucket I could use?"

Hagrid furrowed his brows in concentration. "Yeah. I think I've got one. Lemme go get it fer yeh." He stood up and walked into his house. Lily winced as she heard a loud clattering sound. A minute later Hagrid stepped back out and handed her a medium sized tin pail.

"Will this here do?"

"This is perfect. Thank you very much. I promise to bring it back as soon as I'm done with it."

"Alrigh'. Glad I could help yeh."

Lily walked back up to the greenhouse. When she walked in the door Marcus was on the floor of the room. About a dozen other snakes were coiled behind him.

"Is this her, Marcus?" one of them hissed.

Marcus nodded. "It is."

"Are you all going to help me with my prank?" Lily asked excitedly. A murmur of surprise rippled through the snakes on the floor.

"We will, My lady," they answered.

Lily beamed. Fred and George were going to be so surprised. She thanked them all as, one by one, they slithered into her bucket.

"Are you all comfortable enough?"

"Yes Milady."

"Lily. Call me Lily."

She carried the bucket up to the Great Hall. Fred and George were still sitting at the Gryffindor table, waiting for her return. The Great Hall had filled up by a lot since Lily had left. A few Hufflepuff students were walking in the door, and Lily silently crept in behind them.

Lily cast out her mind, looking for her intended target. He was walking up from the dungeons at that moment. Lily placed the bucket of snakes down on the ground and walked casually over to Fred and George, a light smile on her face.

"Back so soon? Did you give up already?"

Lily stuck her tongue out at Fred. "Just you wait." She flicked her wand and whispered softly "_Wingardium Leviosa." _

The bucket slowly began to rise up into the air. Lily kept her wand close to her body so that the few teachers that were there couldn't tell she was the one who had pulled the prank.

The first years hadn't ever used the levitating spell before. They had practiced the wand waving techniques, but had never actually cast the spell. She was proud at how well she was holding up the spell. She was also proud she had thought to use a spell that, technically, she hadn't learned yet. No teacher could legitimately accuse her of being the prankster.

"Three, two, one," Lily murmured to Fred and George as Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle stepped into the room.

She flicked her wand and all of a sudden the bucket tipped over and a shower of snakes fell on the boys' heads.

"AHHHHHH!!!"

Lily had never heard three more girlish screams in her life. The Hall erupted into laughter as the three boys ran for their tables, all the while frantically brushing their hair and clothes off. Fred and George laughed as hard as they had before. Lily joined along, but made sure to levitate the bucket and the snakes out one of the opened windows, so they were out of harm's way.

"That, my friend, was bloody brilliant."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**A/N: So...here's chapter 5. The first part was kinda boring to write, but I had a lot of fun with the second :) Reviews, pretty please??? I'd like to know what all you people think about the story. So far only one person's reviewed it (which I am EXTREMELY thankful for btw). I'd like some input from other people too please.  
**

Chapter 5

"So you actually _want_ to take extra lessons for potions?"

Lily sighed and replied for the twelfth time that day, "Yes George."

"With Snape?" Fred asked.

"He is the potions master, isn't he?"

The twins had no response to that. The three of them walked side by side down the hallway leading to the dungeons. Lily was in the middle with Fred and George on either side. They had insisted on accompanying her to her lesson. Lil had insisted that they didn't have to, but they came anyway.

Fred and George paused at the top of the stairs.

"It's not too late."

"You still have time to turn back."

Lily gave both of them a good whack on the arm. She took a few steps down the stairs before turning to look at them. "You boys coming?"

"Yes." They followed her down the steps, rubbing their arms as they went.

It didn't take long for the trio to reach the potions classroom. As they approached the door, Fred stopped. He turned Lily around and placed both of his hands on her shoulders.

"We'll be waiting for you in the Great Hall tomorrow morning. If you aren't there by 7, we'll have to assume that you've been chopped up and made into a stew."

George took her hand and looked her straight in the eyes, a serious expression on his face. "If that is the case," he said to her, "We promise not to eat the soup tomorrow for lunch."

Lily smiled and pinched both of their cheeks. "Awww…how thoughtful of you."

The twins smiled and waved goodbye as they retreated down the hallway. When they were out of sight, Lily turned around and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Snape's voice sounded from inside.

Lily opened the door and shut it quietly behind her. Professor Snaoe was sitting behind his desk, grading a stack of papers. Lily approached cautiously and sat down at the desk in front of him.

"Take out something to write with. Here's a notebook you may use if you wish." He flicked his wand and an old, leather bound book floated across the gap between the two desks. Lily held it for a moment, admiring the small patterns that adorned the cover before opening it up to the first page.

With another flick of his wand, a stack of books floated from across the room and landed on her desk.

"Let me remind you again, you are not required to be here. At any time if this becomes too _challenging _for you, by all means, get out. Whatever you put into these lessons will be what you get out. Is that understood?"

Lily nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Get started then."

Lily opened the top book and began reading. She scratched away in her notebook, putting down all of the ingredients she came across. She labeled diagrams of them, listed uses, and mentioned what potions they were commonly used in. slowly but surely, the pages started to fill up.

"Curfew is in 15 minutes Miss Rain. I suggest you go on back to the common room."

Lily looked up, startled. Was it that late already? Sure enough, she had been hard at work for an hour and forty-five minutes.

She stood up and gathered her things together. She tucked the notebook safely in her bag and picked up the stack of books.

"Professor?"

Snape looked up at her, meeting her gaze. "Yes?"

"Would it be possible for me to take these with me?"

Snape nodded stiffly and went back to his papers. Lily walked towards the door and opened it gently.

"Goodnight sir." She said, not expecting to receive a respond. She wasn't disappointed. Snape merely grunted, not even lifting his eyes.

Lily sighed and left the classroom. Her arms were aching by the time she reached the dormitory, thanks to the load of books she was carrying.

Several students were still up, working on homework they still had to finish. Lily was thankful she had completed hers earlier on in the day. She walked into her dorm, careful not to disturb the girls already in there. The books were left on her bed as she stepped into the bathroom for her nightly shower.

No one spoke to her as she climbed into her bed. This wasn't the first night she wished she had been sorted into Gryffindor.

***

Hogwarts became more familiar to Lily each day. She was excited for every (well almost every) class she entered: excited to learn new things, and to spend time with her friends. Unfortunately, the only times she saw Fred and George were breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They were two years apart, so they never had any classes together. Somehow, the two would always find a way to walk her to all her classes, even if theirs were across the school from hers.

It came as a major shock to fond that Halloween had already arrived. She was in the dungeons that evening, working on the first assignment Snape had given her. Up until that point, she had been documenting the different ingredients and potions used, in order to build up her knowledge. She was working on a Forgetfulness Potion, something Snape said the first years would be tested on later on in the year. She had prepared all of the ingredients the lesson before and had come early on Halloween so she would finish brewing the potion before it got too late.

Lily had never liked Halloween. Even as a young child she disliked it. Not once did she go outside trick-or-treating with the other children. It was as if some unseen force was keeping her inside on that night. Whenever she would get ready to go out, she would get a strange feeling in her stomach and would end up staying in.

Missing the Halloween feast didn't seem like a big deal to her. Fred and George might be a little disappointed at her skipping out on it, but they would get over it. She had taken to sitting with the Gryffindors whenever they had a meal. It felt like she was really one of them. Hermione was delighted to have her sit with them, and Harry and Ron didn't seem to mind too much. Even Percy was warming up to her.

The potion was completed around 7 o'clock. Professor Snape had attended the feast that night, but had given her permission to be in his classroom in order to finish her task. She filled a beaker with a sample of her work and cleaned up her station. Gathering up her books, she headed upstairs. The feast had just started. She would still be able to make it.

She had reached the first floor hallway that lead from the dungeons to the Great Hall when she heard a familiar voice call out her name.

"Lily!"

It was George. Lily opened her mouth to great him when she noticed something was wrong. George's face looked panic stricken and his eyes kept darting around, as if he were looking for something.

When he reached her, he placed his hand firmly on her arm.

"We've got to get out of here."

Lily was alarmed. "What! Why?"

A low rumbling cut her off. George's eyes widened and he pulled her into a small cranny in the wall where a suit of armor stood. He pressed her up against the wall and motioned for her to be silent.

It didn't take long for Lily to see what was wrong. Moments later, a giant troll came into sight. It was about twelve feet tall with gray skin and a smell that caused Lily to retch a little. She wrapped her arms around George's waist and pulled him closer, her terror rising. He placed a hand on her head, trying to calm her.

The troll had stopped by them. For a moment, Lily had thought it had seen them. Luckily, trolls were very stupid creatures, and it passed on by them.

George suddenly started waving his hand in the direction of the dungeon door. Lily wondered if Fred was hiding nearby.

"I've told Fred to get the teachers for help. We should be ok, but it's not safe to move from here," George breathed in her ear. Lily nodded in understanding.

The two remained silent, their breath the only sound they heard.

Suddenly a high pitched scream echoed from down the hall.

"George!" Lily whispered urgently as she tried to break free. "That's the girl's bathroom down there. We have to do something."

George pressed himself harder against her, preventing any escape. "We can't! You could get hurt, and I won't let that happen!" his face was inches from her own, his eyes burning.

"We can't just stand here and do nothing!" Lily whispered furiously. There were shouts coming from the room now, followed by another scream. "There are people in there with that creature that need help, and the teachers are nowhere in sight!"

George's jaw clenched, weighing his options. His head snapped in the direction of the bathroom as the troll gave a earsplitting roar. "Alright," he said at last. "But I go first."

Lily dropped her bags and raced down the hall after George. They burst into the bathroom just as Ron released his spell and dropped the troll's club directly on his head. The troll swayed and fell to the floor.

"Is it dead?" Hermione asked, her voice shaking.

"I don't think so," Harry responded. "I think it's just been knocked out."

He reached down and pulled his wand out from the troll's nose.

Lily wrinkled her nose in disgust. Suddenly a loud bang was heard, followed by quick paced footsteps. the door was flung open and Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Professor Quirrell stepped into the room. Fred was right behind them.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" professor McGonagall asked, her face white with fury. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Hermione was the one who answered.

"Please, Professor McGonagall, they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

Lily was shocked. This whole thing was Hermione's fault?

"I went looking for the troll because I – I thought I could handle it on my own – you know, because I've read all about them."

There was a clattering sound as Ron's wand clattered to the floor.

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead by now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose, and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

Lily knew right away that Hermione was lying. She could tell. McGonagall, however, seemed to buy the story.

"Well – in that case…" Professor McGonagall paused. "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Hermione hung her head and remained silent.

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. I am very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

Hermione left, looking crestfallen. Lily winced as McGonagall turned her attention to Harry and Ron.

"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

Lily watched as Harry and Ron left, their faces full of relief. Her stomach clenched as McGonagall addressed them.

"Please tell me you two didn't go looking for trouble too?" she sounded tired.

"No Professor, we didn't," George answered. "When we heard the troll was loose, Fred and I went to go look for Lily. We knew she was down in the dungeons so we took opposite ways to get there. I found her first and when we spotted the troll we hid. I signaled Fred to find help and we planned on staying hidden. But, when we heard Hermione's scream, we couldn't stay put. We came in just as Ron dropped the club on its head."

McGonagall nodded. "Ok. The both of you may go."

George walked next to Lily as they exited the bathroom.

"G'night George," Lily murmured as the adrenaline started to die down.

"Night Lily."

They each took their separate hallways and walked wearily back to their common rooms. Lily was barely aware of what was going on around her. She was still recovering from the events that had taken place that night.

_One thing's for sure, _Lily thought as she drifted off to sleep, _ I hope I never have to go through something like that again._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 up. How many prettys do I have to put before please for you to let me know what you think? pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty...pretty pretty please (that way there can be as many as you want). **

Chapter 6

One of the many disadvantages of sleeping down in the dungeons was the inability to see what the world was like outside. While the other houses could look outside their dorm windows and see whether it was sunny, or rainy, or as in the case in early December, snowy, the Slytherin house couldn't catch a glimpse of the outside world until they entered the Great Hall.

This is why, when Lily entered the Great Hall, she was shocked and excited to see a thick layer of snow on the ground.

"I love snow," George sighed as Lily sat down next to him.

"Me too twin. I know exactly what we're going to do today."

Lily smiled. She loved hearing those words come from Fred's mouth. It was a Saturday, which meant they had all day to pull whatever prank Fred had in mind. She couldn't wait!

Less than an hour later, the trio were outside packing together a pile of snowballs. Fred's plan was to bewitch them to fly around and hit whichever person the three decided to set them on. The snowballs would continue to follow this person until they had each hit him/her or until they melted. Fred and George had already gotten their snowballs in the air, but Lily was having a bit of trouble.

"Here," George said to her after she had thrown her wand down in frustration. He stooped down to pick it up. George took her hand in his, "Like this."

He flicked her wrist and one of the snowballs drifted up into the air.

Lily gasped. "I did it! I mean you – we did it!" she exclaimed. Lily flicked her wrist again , on her own this time, and the rest of the snowballs flew up into the air.

"Great job!" George praised, his face beaming.

"Hey," fred called, grabbing their attention. They followed his gaze to the front of the school where professor Quirrell had just exited the castle from. He was plodding slowly through the snow on his way to the greenhouses.

George and Lily nodded and simultaneously, they all launched their snowballs in Quirrell's direction. The first one hit him square on the back and he fell flat on his face. Lily snickered and saw Fred and George struggle not to laugh.

They watched as the professor stood back up. The snowballs were all floating around his head, periodically ramming into the back of his turban. Quirrell tried to swat them away, but they just dodged his swings and hit even harder.

Quirrell finally gave up in his quest and ran back to the castle, falling a number of times. When he was inside, Lily, Fred, and George burst out laughing.

"You know," George said as he watched the remaining snowballs float around the door, looking for a way in, "We could open one of the windows. Once they have a way inside, it wont take long for them to find Quirrell."

Lily smiled. She followed the twins over to one of the windows that lead into the Great Hall. "How are we going to reach it?" she asked, referring to the small hook twenty feet above her that kept the top of the window shut.

Fred and George were silent, contemplating their options.

"Are we – " George started.

"Yes, twin, we are," was Fred's response.

"What? Are we what?" Lily didn't like the look the boys were giving her. Any time they had smiles on their faces meant trouble.

"Stand still. We're going to have to levitate you up there."

"WHAT?!?" Lily screamed, but it was too late.

"_Wingardium Leviosa"_

Lily felt herself being lifted off thr ground. She gripped her wand tighter and glared at the twins.

"I swear, if the two of you drop me…"

Fred laughed. "Don't you have any faith in us?"

Lily shook her head. "None at all." George smiled.

"Guys, I really don't think this is a good idea."

"Lily."

"I mean, what if you drop me?"

"Lily."

"I could get really hurt and – "

"LILY!!!" both boys shouted at her. Lily closed her mouth.

"turn around." George said.

Lily looked away from them and saw she was level with the hook that held the window shut.

"Oh," she murmured. It took her little more than three seconds to undo the clasp and pry open the window.

George gave a sharp, high-pitched whistle. The snowballs that were still floating by the door raced over to them and soared through the window.

Lily giggled when she thought about the surprised look that Quirrell would have on his face. Her amusement quickly changed to panic when she realized she was being turned over on her side.

"Fred, George, stop messing around and get me DOWN FROM HERE!!!"

She screamed as she felt the spell disappear from beneath her.

As it turned out, she had only been floating two feet above George when they dropped her. He caught her safely and started carrying her bridal style back to the castle.

"How come you guys couldn't just zap the window open?" Lily asked, the idea only just coming to her.

Fred smiled. "We could have – "

"But our idea was more fun," George put in.

Since Lily couldn't reach Fred, she made sure to smack George extra hard. He responded by swinging her around and plopping her in a pile of snow. Lily got up slowly and brushed the snow from her clothes before leaping forward and tackling him.

Fred, not about to be left out of wrestling in the snow, launched himself at the two and they all started rolling around in the snow.

The fight only lasted for ten minutes, but by the time it was over, all three were soaked to the bone.

"I think we should go inside," Lily said, shivering.

"Right behind you." Fred said. The three walked into the castle and were greeted by one of the most welcoming and fun-loving people there:

Professor Snape

"What is it you are up to?" he sneered, referring more to the Weasley twins than to Lily.

"We were having a bit of fun," George responded.

"Really?" Snape seemed unconvinced."Mr. Weasely, does that fun include pelting Professor Quirrell with snowballs?"

Fred snorted. "Why yes sir, it does. It was a blast." He and George gave themselves high fives.

"Well, then I hope you enjoy spending two weeks of detention with me. I will see you both Monday night at seven." He smirked and then nodded at Lily. "Have a nice day Miss Rain."

Watching his retreating form, Lily turned to Fred and George. They were seething. "That right there," she said, "is probably one of the only perks of being in Slytherin."

***

By the time Fred and George were out of detention, Christmas had arrived. Lily had elected to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays. The Weasley boys were remaining, along with Harry. Lily could understand why Harry wouldn't want to go home for the holidays and Fred and George had told her about their parents' plan to visit their older brother, Charlie, in Romania.

Lily awoke early on Christmas morning. She didn't have to worry about waking anyone, because all of the Slytherins had gone home for the break. It was sure to be a very lonely Christmas, except that she had another plan.

At quarter to seven, Lily was standing outside the Gryffindor common room. In her arms, she carried packages for Harry, Ron, Fred, and George. The Fat Lady eyed her warily as she approached.

"What are you doing here in this part of the castle?" she questioned.

Lily looked at her sternly. "I'm here to spend Christmas with my friends."

The Fat Lady scoffed. "A Slytherin, friends with a Gryffindor? I highly doubt that."

"Pig snout."

"I beg your pardon?" the Fat Lady gasped.

Lily was starting to get irritated. "The password. Pig Snout. Now let me in."

With a huff, she swung her portrait in and Lily walked inside. The common room was empty. Lily supposed they were all still asleep in their beds. She placed the presents by the tree and took a seat on one of the comfy armchairs and waited.

The first sound of movement came only ten minutes later. Lily glanced up at the staircase leading to the different rooms. Ron came running down the stairs, towing Harry with him.

"Harry, come on! Its Christmas!"

The two froze when they saw her.

"Happy Christmas!" Lily said cheerily.

"Happy Christmas, Lily how did you get in here?" Ron asked without pausing between the different thoughts.

"I gave the Fat Lady the password and she let me in."

"She let you in?"

"How'd you get the password?"

Lily answered both of the boy's questions. "Fred and George. And she's required to let in anyone who says the password as long as they are a student or are employed at Hogwarts. It's for emergencies mostly, but its helpful for students that have friends in other houses."

Ron and Harry nodded. Suddenly Ron turned around and raced up the stairs.

"Where'd he run off to?" Lily asked.

Harry shrugged. "Beats me."

They didn't have to wait long. What seemed like seconds later, Ron was walking back down the stairs, pushing a pair of sleepy twins.

"Here ya go. They'll take a while to wake up, but at least they're here."

Lily smiled in thanks and waved as Harry and Ron gathered the rest of their presents (the others had been placed on the foot of their beds) and climbed back up to their rooms.

"Why in the world would Ronald wake us up this early?" Fred groaned as he slumped over the arm of the chair Ron had put him in.

"The sun isn't even awake yet," George whined as he tried to find a comfortable spot on the couch.

Lily giggled and walked over to him. His eyes were closed, his face scrunched. She knelt on the floor and gently blew onto his face.

His eyes fluttered open, and Lily noticed for the first time how blue they were.

"Morning sleepyhead," she said teasingly as she ruffled his hair.

George groaned and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Help me up," he mumbled.

Slowly but surely, Lily got both Fred and George into a sitting position. She then went over and grabbed their presents from under the tree.

"These here are from your mother. And this one's from Ron, and Percy's is here…"

"And this," she stated finally, handing each of them a small box, "Is from me."

Lily sat back and watched Fred and George open their presents. She especially liked the sweaters their mother had knitted for them. They were royal blue in color and had a bright yellow letter on each of them.

"Look!" she exclaimed. "They have the first letter of your names on it. Now you'll never forget!"

"Don't be stupid," George mumbled, still somewhat asleep, "We know our names are Gred and Forge."

That got all three of them laughing. Fred and George seemed more awake by the time they had finished opening their presents.

"Aww…look George, Lily got me a picture of me. You're the best."

George wacked his brother upside the head. "It's a picture of the three of us, stupid."

The picture each of them was holding was one of them sitting outside in the courtyard. Fred and George were sitting beside Lily with each of their heads on her shoulder. They were all looking up at the clouds as they passed by. Hermione had taken it one day in late November with a camera that Lily had leant her. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to develop it into a moving picture.

"That will have to be enough until we can get a better picture of the three of us. One that actually moves."

George shrugged. "I kind of like this one. It's nice."

"Open your present Lily."

Lily looked down at the present on her lap. It was a good deal bigger than the present she had given them. Slowly, she began to unwrap the box, relishing the twin's impatience.

"Oh my gosh," Lily gasped. "I love it."

The boys had gotten her a blanket. The design on one side was silver and green with the head of a serpent, but on the other side, it was red and gold, with a lion's head.

"We thought you would. This way, you will be reminded of how awesome both Slytherin and Gryffindor are."

"Yeah, even though Gryffindor is better."

George elbowed Fred in the side.

Lily stood up and gave each of them a big hug. "Thank you both so much."

"Come on, enough of this mushy friend stuff. I need food, NOW!" Fred leapt up and pulled both Lily and George out of the room and towards the Great Hall, and the wonderful breakfast feast that awaited them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry if it seemed like Lily's first year came to an end too abruptly. Quite frankly, I was tired of writing about it. So many more exciting things are going to be coming up soon, so stay tuned. :) On to year 2!!!!**

**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter characters and plot are not mine.  
**

Chapter 7

One thing Lily had noticed was that Professor Snape had grown progressively more bitter since Christmas, no, since Halloween. He had always come off as a bit of a prick, but Lily saw that he was very short tempered in class, and when they were alone, he barely spoke to her at all, and if he did, it was never complementary.

On one of these instances, he just about yelled at her for what seemed like forever, causing her to start to cry. She had been assigned a simple deflating draught. Snape had said that it was a second year potion, so it should be easy enough for her to complete. She had thought she had been doing a good job until she had accidentally lit the fire too hot which caused the potion to burn. She removed it in time to prevent the cauldron from melting, but the room had started to smell like burnt rubber.

"You stupid girl!" Snape roared, flicking his wand to clear away the ruined potion. "Can't you pay attention to what you're supposed to be doing? The fire was way too hot! It says, clear as day, at the top of the page, to be careful of the temperature of the flame. Are you so dumb that you can't even read simple instructions?"

"STOP IT!" Lily shouted, tears streaming down her face. "Stop yelling at me! Why do you always have to be so mean? I'm sorry that I messed up, and that I'm such a terrible student, ok? It was only one little mistake. Haven't you ever made a mistake before?"

Her voice was gentler now, more controlled. Snape stared at her, his eyes blazing. Lily thought she saw them soften for a moment, but he had turned around before she could see properly.

Lily was unprepared for the sudden images that pulsed from Snape's mind. She shut her eyes and tried to block out the flashes of his memories. They were so sharp, so painful. She could feel the sorrow in her Professor's heart, and she was brief flashes of him as a young boy, with a red haired girl always with him.

Just as quickly as the memories started, they stopped. Lily gasped as she returned to the real world. Her books were strewn across the floor where she had dropped them.

Snape was standing next to her; his hand gripped her shoulder tightly. His black eyes stared into her green ones. "What happened?" he asked firmly.

Lily was just starting to get her bearings back. She noticed, for the first time, that she was crying.

"I'm sorry," Lily whispered. "I didn't mean to, I just, I wasn't prepared. It hit me so fast, and I couldn't block it out. I tried to, but they were to powerful…"

Snape continued to look into her eyes. "Block what out?"

"The memories," Lily's voice was distant, her eyes held captive by his. "Your memories."

Snape's eyes widened. "Impossible." He removed his hand from her shoulder and walked swiftly back to his desk.

"What did you see?" he asked after a long period of silence.

"The images were brief, so brief that I couldn't tell what was going on. The only thing I could see clearly was a young girl. She was with you in each of the pictures I saw. She had bright red hair and the deepest green eyes…" Lily trailed off and looked at Professor Snape. His eyes were wide, and for the first time, he looked something more than just bitter. He looked sad.

"I honestly didn't mean to see it. I tried to back out, but the memories were so strong, I was trapped. I swear I would never purposefully invade your mind like that. The mind is a very private place and to invade it like that would be a horrible thing to do." Lily knew she was babbling now. She didn't care. All she wanted was to say something, anything, that would erase everything that had just happened.

"I understand." Snape's voice was soft, but held no traces of contempt. "There is no need for you to fret about it."

Lily was in shock. She had half expected him to chop her head off for what had happened. He didn't seem like the person that would just shake it off like it was nothing.

"I only ask that you keep what you saw to yourself, and try not to dwell on it."

Lily nodded. "I promise sir."

Snape grunted and went back to cleaning up the mess that had been in. Lily gathered up her books and placed them on the table before turning to help Snape. He had cleared out the potion earlier when he had yelled at her. The cauldron, luckily, hadn't been damaged at all. She picked it up and carried it over to the cupboard where the rest of them were stored.

Once the room had been cleaned, Lily picked up her things and walked towards the door.

"Goodnight Professor," she said as she turned her back away from him. It had become a habit to wish him a good night. The most she had heard in response to her farewells was an occasional grunt.

She was surprised to hear him answer her. "Goodnight Lily." The response was so quiet, and so heartfelt that Lily was sure that she hadn't been meant to hear it. She didn't dare turn around to see if he was looking at her. Her mind was reeling all the way back to the common room. Whatever had happened that night had changed the relationship between Professor Snape and herself. She could feel it.

Snape had requested that she not dwell on what she had seen, so she banished all those thoughts from her mind. She respected her Professor enough to grant him what he wished of her.

***

Lily finished up the rest of her first year strong. She passed all of her finals with flying colors, and she was only a few points away from beating Hermione. Lessons with Snape had continued on normally, as if nothing had ever happened. Lily assumed it was his way of dealing with the situation, and she was fine with that. She much preferred it that way.

Gryffindor had ended up winning the House Cup. At the end of the year feast, Dumbledore had awarded extra points to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville for their bravery during the last week of school. The stories that had been circulating around the school were outrageous. However, Dumbledore wouldn't have given them the points if they hadn't deserved them

All too soon, the students had to board the train home. Lily couldn't believe the year had gone by so fast. And now she was watching the very end of her first year fly by the window. Quite literally. She was actually staring out the window of the Hogwarts Express, watching the fields go by, when Fred and George entered her compartment.

"We'd wondered where you had disappeared to," George said, putting his feet up on her lap.

"I'm here," she said quietly.

"Aw, come on. Cheer up Lily. You'll be back next year. And just think of all the days we'll have with no homework."

"We have summer work, Fred." Try as she might, she couldn't stay sad when she was around the twins. Their bubbly personalities were infectious.

"You might, but I never do mine, so I have a summer free ahead of me."

Lily smiled. "This year went by quickly. Congratulations on winning the House Cup, by the way."

Fred and George beamed. "It's only thanks to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville that we got those extra points," George stated.

"It was really brave, what they did. I don't know if I would have been able to stop Quirrell from getting the stone."

"Do you think it really was You-Know-Who he was working for?" Fred asked.

Lily shrugged. "I dunno."

The rest of the ride was spent on much nicer subjects, including what their plans were that summer. The three decided that they would have to spend a minimum of two weeks together before next term started. Being apart for an entire summer would simply not do.

When the train pulled into Kings Cross station, Lily grabbed her luggage and went to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She gave them each a hug goodbye and made them promise to write. As soon as she had finished, she spotted her uncle in the crowd. She started making her way over to him when she was stopped by two hands on her arm.

"You weren't about to leave without saying goodbye, were you?"

Lily turned around and hugged Fred and George tightly. "You better write to me. Every week, got it?"

Fred and George beamed. "Since we're twins-"

"We'll write to you _twice _a week."

Lily laughed and waved goodbye as she joined her uncle.

"From the looks of it, you had a good year," he remarked as they passed through the gate into the muggle world.

Lily smiled. "I daresay I did."

THE END (of year 1)


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm so excited to finally be writing book two. Here's the first chapter. Let me know what you think :)**

**btw...I dont own Harry Potter  
**

BOOK 2!!!!!

Chapter 1

Lily paced back and forth in front of her fireplace. She had been waiting for exactly 52 minutes and 23 seconds. Her luggage was packed in her suitcase. She had showered and changed into a pair of comfortable shorts and a tank top. The temperature outside had been rather warm in the past week, and if there was one thing Lily disliked, it was being too hot.

9:54. Six minutes. Six minutes until Fred and George were scheduled to appear in her fireplace and whisk her off to their house. It had taken almost a month of persuading, but Lily had finally gotten her uncle to allow her to spend the last two weeks of summer vacation with the Weasley family.

She was a bit nervous. She, Fred, and George were best friends, of course, and she knew Ron pretty well, but Lily had never really met the rest of the family before. She was afraid that they wouldn't like her, because she was a Slytherin, but Fred and George had assured her that they would.

9:58. Two more minutes. Lily swore she would explode if the twins were even a second late. Summer at her uncle's house had been alright. She had finished all of her summer work within the first week and had spent the rest of the summer outside. There were no wizards her age where she lived, but there were a couple of muggle boys and girls that lived down the street. She often found herself outside in the park, playing soccer with them.

"Three, two, one," Lily murmured as she watched the clock tick down to 10am. A bright green flame erupted in the fireplace and Fred and George stepped out.

"Right on time," Fred said, flashing a smile in her direction. Lily walked over to them and gave them a fierce hug.

"I missed you two," she said happily.

George laughed. "We missed you too Lily."

"Well, George here missed you. I, on the other hand, barely thought of you at all."

George nodded his head in Fred's direction. "Feel free to smack him."

That was all the convincing Lily needed. She reached forward and slapped Fred on the arm.

"You know, I was kind of hoping we would at least reach my house before this started up again. Guess not every dream comes true."

"Hey dreamer boy, Help me with Lily's trunk." Fred walked over and picked up her suitcase. He dragged it dramatically over to the fireplace before lifting it in. In the blink of an eye and the mutter of a single word, he disappeared in a whoosh of flame.

"You ready?" George asked excitedly. He held out his arm to her and she took it gladly.

"You bet." The two stepped into the fireplace. George removed a handful of floo powder from his pocket.

"The Burrow."

There was a whoosh of sound a split second before a large green flame appeared out of nowhere. Lily grasped George's arm tighter and squeezed her eyes shut. It seemed like an eternity the two were in there, yet it took almost no time at all.

Lily only realized she had been holding her breath when she stepped out into the Weasley's living room and exhaled in relief.

"This must be the Lily I've heard so much about." Lily turned to see a plump lady with flaming red hair. She was smiling and there was a slight color to her cheeks, like she had been very hard at work on something. This had to be the boy's mother.

Sure enough, it was.

"Lily, meet our mum."

she opened her mouth to greet Mrs. Weasley, but before she could utter a word, she was enveloped in the biggest hug of her life.

"It's so nice to have you. Have you eaten?"

"Yes ma'am."

Mrs. Weasley frowned. "There will be none of that ma'am stuff here. You may call me Mrs. Weasley dear."

Lily laughed, feeling her nervousness start to disappear. At that moment, Fred came bounding by the stairs, followed closely by a girl a bit younger than herself.

The girl skipped over to Lily and gave her a hug. "My name's Ginny, and I'm going to go to Hogwarts this year."

Lily smiled. She remembered being this excited last summer, when she was about to enter her first year at Hogwarts. "It's very nice to meet you Ginny," Lily replied.

"So," Fred said, slinging his arm around Lily's shoulders, "What shall we do first?"

"I know!" George cut in. "Let's take her down to the field and play a couple of games of Quidditch."

"Brilliant idea twin."

Fred and George each grabbed one of her arms and started dragging her outside.

"Lunch in two hours!" Mrs. Weasley called after them.

Both boys raised their unoccupied hands in a thumbs-up, to signal to their mother that they understood.

In less than 10 minutes, Lily was hovering steadily on her broom, a few feet above the ground. The only time she had ever flown was during flying lessons her first year. She ahd been an acceptable flyer, but wasn't spectacular. In the air she felt vulnerable. It was more comfortable for her to be on the ground.

"Come on Lily, it's not that hard. Just take a deep breath and go for it. You'll be fine." George soared over to her. "I'll even fly right beside you, so nothing happens."

Lily followed George's advice. He led her in circles around the field until she started feeling more comfortable on the broom. Being up in the air really wasn't that bad. She probably would never be able to do all the fancy tricks that Fred and George did, but she could probably handle a small game of Quidditch.

"Ready?" Fred asked as he summoned the ball up from the ground.

Lily nodded. He tossed it to her and she caught it with surprising ease. She gave it a toss and George swooped down to catch it. They continued to toss the ball back and forth for a while until Lily got the hang of sometimes riding her broom with one hand or no hands at all.

Since they only had three players, it wasn't possible to play a real game. They couldn't even play something similar to Quidditch. Instead, they ended up starting a game of dodge ball, that ended in all three of them rolling around in the dirt.

Lily had been chasing George and he, in an attempt to escape her, flew right along the floor of the field. Much of the field had been turned to dust as a result of the rainless summer. Lily had seen her opportunity and had jumped off her broom, sending the both of them sprawling into the dirt. Fred, not wanting to be left out of the fun, whipped out his wand and dumped a pile of dirt on top of them.

The dirt flinging war quickly turned into three teenagers (well one almost teenager) racing through the forest. Fred was trying to catch up to George, who, in retaliation, had used his wand to whip up a wall of dust that left Fred completely brown. Lily heard the soft rushing of water and knew that a creek was nearby. She, Fred, and George stopped at the bank, sweaty and dirt ridden.

"Truce?"George asked Fred as thr brothers fought to regain their breath.

"Truce."

The boys were standing close to the bank of the creek. Without warning, Lily launched herself at them and tackled Fred, pushing him right into the water.

It was cool and refreshing, and a lot deeper than she had expected. Her feet were planted firmly on the bottom, and the water still reached her shoulders.

Fred came up sputtering. "Oh, you are so going to get it." He leapt at her and pushed her under.

"Cannonball!" George shouted and launched himself into the water. The water from his splash hit her right in the face which caused her to splash him back.

"Hey guys," Lily said, breaking up the splash fight between Fred and George, "I think lunch will be ready soon. We should head back."

The three climbed out of the creek. George summoned the three brooms. They climbed on and flew back to the burrow, hoping the breeze might help dry off their clothes a bit.

Mrs. Weasley took one look at them when they entered the house and demanded they go upstairs and change. Lily followed Fred and George upstairs and stopped when she reached Ginny's room. Since she was the only girl out of seven, there was plenty of room for Lily to sleep with her.

Lily came bounding down the stairs wearing a pair of bright red shorts and a grey tank top. She took a seat at the table in between Fred and George.

"Help yourself to whatever's on the table dear," Mrs. Weasley said. She was sitting on the couch, busily stitching up one of the boy's robes.

Lily reached for the bread and quickly made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She also grabbed a handful of carrots and two chocolate chip cookies.

"Have you heard from Harry yet?" George asked before taking a bite of his turkey sandwich.

Lily shook her head. "I've written to him every week so far this summer, but haven't heard back at all."

"Same with Ron," Fred put in. "He's starting to get worried. He thinks the muggles have locked him up or something."

"I guess it's possible. I mean, since he lives with muggles and not in a magical house, he can't do any magic at all, so if they did lock him up, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

"They wouldn't stop him from going back to Hogwarts, would they?" George asked.

"I have no idea," Lily responded.

The rest of the day passed by quickly. Lily loved being able to spend time with her best friends. there was never a dull moment with the three of them around, they made sure of that.

As she laid down that night beside Ginny, her thoughts lingered on Harry. Were Ron's fears correct? Was Harry really being held at his muggle aunt and uncle's house against his will?

It didn't take long for her questions to be answered.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 2 up for book 2. That makes 2 chapters in one day. That's a lot of 2's :) Hope you like this chapter. I had fun writing this one.**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me.  
**

Chapter 2

A few days after her arrival, Lily discovered (via Mr. Weasley) that Harry had been sent a warning from the Ministry of Magic about illegal use of magic. Lily, Ron, Fred, and George instantly knew something was wrong. Harry would never actually use magic against the Dursleys unless he absolutely had to.

Lily was shaken awake roughly that very night. She opened her mouth to complain, but a strong hand covered it. Slowly, she crept from the room. Fred and George were standing outside the room. They motioned for her to remain silent as they made their way down the stairs.

"We're taking the car to go get Harry," George murmured once they had successfully made it outside. Lily nodded. She knew that Mrs. Weasley would kill them when they got back, but they couldn't leave Harry to suffer another day.

Fred and George hopped in the front while Ron and Lilly climbed in the back. Fred started the car and backed out of the garage. Lily was surprised that she felt so calm, especially since they were in a car with a fourteen year old driving it.

Lily almost jumped out of her seat when the car started to lift off the ground. George, seeing her alarm, reached out and placed his hand on her knee.

"Oh, by the way, this is a flying car."

"Thanks for the heads up," Lily said dryly, getting over her start.

She gazed out the window, watching the countryside go by beneath her. As they approached the town Harry lived in, Lily broke the silence.

"Fred, you might want to turn off the headlights. Most muggles aren't accustomed to flying cars."

Fred flipped off the lights and put on the breaks. The car came to a complete stop just outside of the neighborhood.

"Does anyone know exactly which house Harry lives in?" Fred asked, turning to face her and Ron.

Lily cast out her mind in search of Harry. She mentally soared by all the houses, street by street, looking for the window to Harry's room. She found it two rows of houses in from where they were.

"Go straight. He's about two rows of houses in. His window is facing us towards us. It's the only one with bars in the entire neighborhood."

Fred and George looked at her incredulously. Lily smiled faintly. She had forgotten that they knew nothing about her mind abilities. She probably should fill them in on that soon.

"Later," she mouthed as Ron comprehended what she had said.

"They put bars on Harry's windows?"

Lilly nodded as Fred put the car into drive. He followed her directions and within minutes they were hovering outside Harry's window. Fred switched on the headlights. Lily watched as Harry turned in his bed and slowly opened his eyes.

She almost burst out laughing at his look of complete and utter shock. "Ron? Ron how did you – what the - ?"

Harry stood there gaping at them for a while as his drowsy brain took in the picture before him.

"All right, Harry?" George asked.

"What's been going on?" Ron asked, cutting in. "Why haven't you been answering my letters? I've asked you to stay about twenty twelve times, and then Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of muggles – "

"It wasn't me – and how did he know?"

"He works for the Ministry. You _know_ we're not supposed to do spells outside school – "

"You should talk," Harry retorted, looking at the car they were currently floating in.

"Oh, this doesn't count. We're only borrowing this. It's Dad's, we didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of those muggles you live with – "

"Ron!" Lily hissed. "Can we please get him out of here? We can talk about what happened later."

"But how are you going to get me out?" Harry asked. "You can't magic me out either – "

Ron grinned. "You forget who I've got with me."

Fred handed Lily a rope. "Toss this to Harry." She obliged.

"Harry, tie the rope around the bars." Lily watched as he tied the rope as securely as he could.

"If the Dursleys wake up, I'm dead," Harry said.

Fred smiled. "Don't worry, and stand back."

Harry backed up to the far end of the room and Fred pressed his foot down on the gas pedal. The car started to roar, louder and louder until the bars came clean off the window. Ron grabbed for the rope and started pulling them up into the car. Once they were in, Fred backed the car up slowly until he was mere inches away from the window.

"Get in," Ron ordered.

"But all my Hogwarts stuff, my wand – my broomstick – "

"Where is it?"

"Locked in the cupboard under the stairs, and I can't get out of this room – "

"No problem, " George said. "Out of the way Harry."

Lily watched as the twins climbed out of the car and into Harry's room. They pulled out a hairpin and started to pick the lock. Once it was open, the twins disappeared down the hall. Harry turned and started gathering things from his room. He passed them over to Ron who shoved them in the seat between himself and her.

Fred and George reemerged with the trunk. They heaved it over to the window, panting. Once it was securely inside the car, Fred climbed inside. George climbed in next. As Harry stepped in, a loud screech pierced the night.

"THAT RUDDY OWL!" Lily's heart leapt as Harry dashed back to get Hedwig. As he turned around and raced back to the car, the door was shoved open. Harry and his uncle froze, each staring at each other for a moment. Then in a flurry, Harry managed to pass Hedwig over to Ron and climb halfway into the car before his uncle seized him by the ankle.

"Lily, help," Ron called as he grabbed a hold of Harry's arm. Lily and George launched themselves forward and tugged at Harry.

"Petunia!" Vernon roared, "He's getting away! HE'S GETTING AWAY!"

Lily, George, and Ron gave one final tug and Harry's foot came free.

"Put your foot down Fred!" Ron shouted. Lily lurched in her seat as the car shot forward.

Only after the Dursley's house was far behind them did Lily let out a sigh of relief. They had actually done it. They had rescued Harry.

"So – what's the deal Harry? What's been happening?" Ron asked, unable to take not knowing anymore.

Harry launched into an explanation about a house elf named Dobby who ha paid him a visit a few weeks earlier. Lily found it quite unsettling that the elf had seemed to know that something bad would be happening at Hogwarts that year. What could he have meant? Once the story had been completed, Lily turned her attention to the scenery outside. The clouds were large and puffy. She could just imagine what it would be like to reach out and touch them.

"Uh-oh. It's getting light guys," she said. Sure enough, the sky to the east was just starting to grow lighter.

"We'll be there shortly," Fred answered.

"There's the main road," George said moments later. "We should be there in ten minutes."

Fred started steering the car lower and lower. Lily watched as the familiar shape of the Weasley's house came into view.

"Touchdown!" Fred and George shouted together. Fred parked the car back in the garage and all five of them climbed out. They each took a piece of Harry's luggage and carried it inside.

"It's not much," Lily heard Ron murmur to Harry.

"It's wonderful," he replied, beaming.

"Now, we'll go upstairs really quietly," Fred instructed, "and wait for mum to call us to breakfast. Then, Ron, you come bounding down the stairs going, 'Mum, look who turned up during the night!' and she'll be all pleased to see Harry and no one need ever know we flew the car."

It wasn't such a bad plan, in theory, however, theory didn't seem to be on their side. Mrs. Weasley was already up and knew all four of them were gone. She was practically screaming all the things she would do to them inside her mind.

"Uh-oh," Lily groaned as she saw Mrs. Weasley marching across the yard.

"Ah," said Fred, knowing full well how much of an earful he was going to get.

"Oh dear," George echoed.

Mrs. Weasley glared at all of them, her hands on her hips.

"So?"

"Morning Mum," George said weakly, preparing for what was ahead.

"Have you any idea how worried I've been?" her whisper sent chills down Lily's spine.

"Sorry, Mum, but see, we had to – "

"_Bed empty! No note! Car gone – could have crashed – out of my mind with worry – did you care? – never as long as I've lived – you wait until your father comes home, we never had trouble like his from Bill or Charlie or Percy_ – "

"Perfect Percy," Fred grumbled.

"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, pointing her finger at Fred. "You could have _died_, you could have been _seen, _you could have lost your father his _job_!"

She continued to yell for what seemed like hours. When she had finally finished, she turned to Harry. He flinched, but her voice was kind.

"I'm very pleased to see you dear, come on in and have some breakfast."

After breakfast, Mrs. Weasley directed her sons outside to de-gnome the garden. She hadn't said anything to Lily, so she wasn't sure if Mrs. Weasley wanted her to help or not, but she decided to anyway. She felt guilty that she hadn't yelled at her as much as she had Ron, Fred, and George. She had been as much a part of the rescue as any of them.

It wasn't until much later that night that she was finally alone with Fred and George. The three had gone outside after dinner and were gazing up at the stars. Lily loved stargazing and was trying to show the twins where some of the different constellations were.

"So, you want to explain to us how you knew where Harry's house was?" Fred asked, his head cocked to the side.

"Ok, but you can't tell anyone, promise?"

"I promise," George said, meeting her eyes. Fred seconded the promise.

"I can read minds," she stated simply.

George's eyes went wide, but Fred just smiled.

"Pick a number between one and ten," he said.

"Eleven, and that's not what I'm trying to say Fred."

"Wow, she really can read minds," Fred murmured to George.

"Fred. I picked eleven because you always pick that number, and I can read more complicated things than that. I could tell you exactly what you were thinking about now, and what you thought yesterday, or the day before that. I could even tell you what you first thought of me when we first met if I wanted to."

Lily saw George's face grow a little red.

"Wait, you said could, so why don't you?"

So Fred wasn't always as dumb as he acted. "I wouldn't want anyone poking around in my mind without me knowing, so I try and give people the same privacy I have. I only use it during emergencies like this morning."

"That's really cool," George said.

Lily breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't think she was a freak.

"Yeah, I'd say that's pretty cool," Fred stated. "So can you give us a real demonstration now?"

Lily nodded. _I can also project my own thoughts to people._ Lily watched as the twins jumped back in surprise.

"Neat," they said together.

"Fred, George, Lily. It's getting late!" Mrs. Weasley called from the front door. Lily followed Fred and George in. She got ready for bed and bid them both goodnight. As she climbed into her bed, she was thankful that she had such amazing friends, that would accept her for who she was. And for the first time, her heart twinged with regret at having to go back to Hogwarts.


	10. Chapter 10

**Busy day today... I had most of this written this morning, but saved the last part for tonight and ended up getting distracted for two hours singing Spamalot songs with my brother and sister. Oh well, I had fun and that's what counts. Let me know what you think please. I really appreciate all of the reviews :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.  
**

Chapter 3

It was a week after Harry's arrival that everyone finally heard from Hogwarts. Ginny and Lily had been getting along quite well. There were nights that they would stay up for hours after they went to bed, talking mostly about Hogwarts. Ginny could not wait to start school on September first.

The two girls had come downstairs for breakfast early that morning. They were sitting at the table, eating their porridge, when Harry and Ron entered the room. Ginny's bowl clattered to the floor and she dived under the table to retrieve it. Harry sat down on the other side of the table, pretending he didn't notice anything.

"Letters from school," Mr. Weasley said, passing out some envelopes from the stack he had in his hand. Lily quickly started to open it up. Mr. Weasley continued to talk. "Dumbledore already knows you two are here," he said, referring to Harry and Lily, "doesn't miss a trick, that man. You two've got them too."

Lily looked up as Fred and George staggered in, still in their pajamas. She scooted over to give them both room on either side of her. George sat down on her right and Fred on her left. Everyone was silent as they each read their letters. Lily skimmed over the part that told her to catch the Hogwarts Express at Kings Cross station and paused when she came to the list of new books.

Second Year Students Will Require:

_The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_-by Miranda Goshawk

_Break with a Banshee_-by Gilderoy Lockhart

_Gadding with Ghouls_-by Gilderoy Lockhart

_Holidays with Hags_-by Gilderoy Lockhart

_Travels with Trolls_-by Gilderoy Lockhart

_Voyages with Vampires_-by Gilderoy Lockhart

_Wanderings with Werewolves_-by Gilderoy Lockhart

_Year with the Yeti_-by Gilderoy Lockhart

"You have got to be kidding me," Lily muttered. Fred glanced over her shoulder. "You've been told to get all Lockhart's books too!" he said. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts must be a fan – bet it's a witch."

Mrs. Weasley glared at Fred and he quickly returned to eating his breakfast.

"That lot won't come cheap," George put in. "Lockhart's books are really expensive…"

Mrs. Weasley looked worried. "We'll manage. I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things second hand."

Ginny did not look too pleased about this, but she remained silent.

They traveled to Diagon Alley the next day. They had all gathered around the fireplace, ready to floo themselves there. Mrs. Weasley offered for Harry to go first. He just looked at her blankly.

"W-What am I supposed to do?" he stammered.

"He's never traveled by floo powder," Ron said suddenly, "Sorry Harry, I forgot."

"Never?" said Mrs. Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley last year to buy your school supplies?"

"I went on the underground – "

"Really?" said Mr. Weasley. "Were there _escapators_? How exactly – "

"Not now Arthur. Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before – "

"He'll be alright, Mum," Fred cut in. "Harry, watch us first."

He took a pinch of the powder and threw it in. A bright green flame erupted and he stepped in. "Diagon Alley!" he shouted before disappearing.

George was next. Lily watched him as he too disappeared. She heard Mrs. Weasley telling Harry to be sure to speak clearly. She approached the fire next.

"Diagon Alley!"

In a whoosh, Lily was enveloped in the green flame. She kept her arms tucked in and had to squint her eyes to be able to see where she was. She stepped out when she noticed a flicker of red out of the corner of her eye.

George caught her as she stumbled out of the fireplace.

"I swear Fred, if Harry gets lost this is all your fault," she coughed as George helped her steady herself.

Ron appeared next, followed by Mrs. Weasley and Ginny, and lastly, Mr. Weasley and Percy. There was no Harry.

"He'll be alright," Lily said, rolling her eyes at Fred. He shrugged.

Mrs. Weasley was starting to panic, looking for Harry. Lily reached over and put her hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Calm down Mrs. Weasley. How about we all split up and look for him. He can't be too far from here."

Mrs. Weasley nodded and they all split off into different groups. Lily went with Fred and George, Ron with Percy, and Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, and Ginny went together.

"So are we going to be able to see some of this mind reading ability in action?" Fred asked once they were out of earshot from the others.

Lily nodded. She had already cast her mind out and was brushing against everyone's consciousness, looking for Harry or a picture that they had seen Harry recently.

One thing she did notice was Draco and his father emerging from Knockturn Alley. She had heard that the alley was a vary dodgy place. Harry wouldn't be there, would he?

She followed the cobbled street down, looking for any sign Harry had been there. Almost immediately she spotted Hagrid, who was looking for flesh-eating slug repellant. And in front of him was…

"Harry!" She exclaimed out loud. The twins beamed. "He's with Hagrid, They'll be coming up from over there," She pointed towards Gringotts.

"Mum! Mum!" Fred called spinning around. "We know where Harry is."

Ron emerged from the store he had been in. Hermione followed right behind him. Lily waved a quick hello before racing off with everyone right behind her. Hermione reached Hagrid and Harry first. He was covered in soot and his glasses had been cracked.

Once everyone had given Harry a hug, they all entered Gringotts to pick up their money.

Lily's vault was first up. When it opened and she stepped inside, Fred and George gasped.

"Bloody hell, Lily," Fred exclaimed. "You're loaded."

Lily blushed. "Yeah, all of my mom's savings are in here, plus my uncle's. He's a lawyer, so he gets paid a lot. Since he can't have any kids, the money really belongs to me. It will be mine once he dies anyway."

She filled up her bag with all the money it could hold and returned to the cart. Lily's heart sank when she saw the inside of the Weasley's vault. There was a pile of silver sickles and just one gold galleon. Mr. Weasley picked it all up and put it in his bag. Last on the trip was Harry. He probably had just as much money as Lily did.

Once outside the bank, the group split up. Hermione had waited for them and went off with Harry and Ron. Lily followed Fred and George over to their friend Lee Jordan, who they had just spotted.

"Meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour!" Mrs. Weasley called. Lily turned back and waved to signal she had understood.

"Lily!" Lee exclaimed as he gave her a hug, "It's nice to see you again. You've been hanging out with these clowns all summer?"

"Nah, Just for the past two weeks. Other than that I was at home doing homework or playing soccer."

"What's soccer?" Lee asked curiously.

"It's a game. Kind of like Quidditch. There are two teams and you run around on the field and try to kick a ball through the goal. Each team had a goalie that tries to stop the ball from getting in, kinda like a keeper."

"Hmm, you'll have to teach me sometime. And I can teach you to fly a broom."

Lily smiled. "Fred and George already beat you to it."

Lee shot George a look that Lily didn't quite understand. "That's too bad. I'll have to figure out something else to teach you then. Just to make it fair."

Lily sensed that something was off between the three. She quickly changed the subject.

"Oh, can we go into the pet shop? Please?"

George laughed. "Of course."

The four walked into the store and Lily glanced around. According to Hogwarts rules, they were allowed to have either an owl, a cat, or a toad. Lily disliked toads and she wasn't very partial to owls.

She walked over to the section of the store that held the cats. George followed her, but Lee and Fred got sidetracked by the cage of bats by the front of the store.

"Do you like any of them?" George asked as she looked over them all.

"That one," she pointed to a small, fluffy grey kitten. She had dark striped across her back and the prettiest blue eyes. The exact same shade as George's.

George opened up the cage and gently pulled the kitten out. She mewed in protest, but didn't lash out like some of the other cats might have. George handed the kitten to Lily and they walked over to the front desk.

"You picked a cute one darlin'" the witch said as she brought up a small carrying case to put the kitten in. "That will be three sickles please." Lily handed over the money and picked up the cage that the kitten was now in.

"Aww, she's so cute," Lee exclaimed as he caught sight of the kitten. "What's her name?"

"I think it should be Fred, because that's the best name in the entire world," Fred stated.

"It's a girl Fred," Lee said.

"What's your point?"

"I really like the name Kiki," Lily said, poking her finger through the bars of the cage.

"Kiki it is then," Lee remarked.

George stuck his pinkie in the cage alongside Lily. Kiki rubbed her cheek against him and then licked it.

Lily giggled. "I think she likes you George."

"Hey, the line at Flourish and Blotts looks really long. Aren't you guys meeting there soon?" Lee asked.

Lily nodded. "We should probably go stand in line now, that way they don't have to wait in line for so long."

_(And then harry exploded. BOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!_

_Follow the butterflies, follow the butterflies, !_

_WE HAVE FOUND A WITCH! MAY WE BURN 'ER?!!)(btw, my brother wrote that. I thought it was funny so I left it in. Hope it's not too distracting.)_

They all agreed and set off for the store. Lee bid them all farewell when he caught sight of his mother waiting for him by the leaky cauldron entrance.

"Just so you know, you'll probably end up giving our mum a heart attack. We never do anything thoughtful like this," Fred stated.

Lily laughed. They stood in line for a good half an hour more before the rest of the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione showed up. Fred had been correct in his assumption that Mrs. Weasley would have a fit once she saw that her two hooligans had saved them a spot in line. She ran over to them and gave them each a giant hug before turning to Lily.

"Thank you so much darling. You've made such a good impression on my boys."

Lily was blushing heavily as Gilderoy Lockhart walked out into the front of the store.

"That right there, means you've become a part of the family," George whispered to her.

Lockhart glanced out at his audience, and his eyes came to a rest on Harry.

"It can't be, Harry Potter?"

The crowd parted and Harry was pulled over to Lockhart. Lily rolled her eyes. She didn't understand why everyone made such a big deal about Harry.

She waited patiently as Lockhart talked and talked about how _wonderful _he was. She groaned along with Fred and George as he announced that he would, in fact, be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the year.

"I can't believe he's going to be our teacher," George complained on their way out of the store. Lily nodded in agreeance. The three waited on the other side of the street for the rest of the family to emerge from the store.

Several minutes went by, and still, they hadn't caught sight of anyone.

"Do you think we should go in and see where they all went?" Lily asked.

Her question was answered seconds later when shouting ensued from the front of the store. Lily strained her neck to see what it was. It looked like a fight had started, but she couldn't tell who it was between.

Moments later, the Weasley family emerged. They were led by a flustered Mrs. Weasley who was shouting at her husband.

"A _fine _ example to set for your children…brawling in public…what Gilderoy Lockhart must have thought – "

Fred and George snickered and Lily had to fight not to join in. She wished she had been there to see Mr. Weasley in a fight. The three managed to stay quiet for the trip back home. Once they were alone, they started talking about it in excessive detail until Ginny came up to Fred and George's room to tell them dinner was ready.

It was only that night that Lily realized for the first time that she would be going back to Hogwarts in just two days.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry that this chapter's a bit short. It was one of the more boring ones, but still necessary for me to write. I hope you all like the story so far. Thanks for the reviews :) they really boost my spirits. So keep them coming.  
**

**Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not me.  
**

Chapter 4

The morning of September first was hectic. Mrs. Weasley had to wake them all up extra early in order to get them fed, packed and loaded into the car. Lily had packed her trunk the night before, so she spent the morning helping Fred and George locate all of their school supplies and stuff it all into one suitcase each.

Once all six of them had everything ready, they piled into the car. Mr. Weasley had enchanted the car to both drive itself and expand the interior so everyone could fit inside. Lily squished herself in between George and Fred with Kiki on her lap. The kitten loved being allowed to roam around, so Lily left her out of her cage as much as possible.

"Good heavens!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed when she saw the clock at the station. "We're going to miss the train!"

The group of them bolted to the entrance to Platform 9 ¾ . Percy went first. Lily, Fred, and George followed closely behind. The train was already starting its engine when the three of them hopped on.

"That was close," George remarked. Lily heaved a sigh of relief as she saw Ginny hop on the train behind them.

"Let's go find a compartment." She half expected Ginny to spend the train ride with them, but she decided to go find a compartment of her own.

"Finally, an empty one." Fred walked over to the window and stuck his trunk on the rack overhead. He reached over and put Lily's and then George's up as well. The three sat down and enjoyed the first moments of peace they had experienced that morning.

Kiki mewed and Lily opened up her cage. She climbed out and stretched her legs before leaping onto George's lap and curling up to take a nap.

Lily laughed. "She really seems to like you George."

George smiled and began petting her softly. Kiki began purring loudly.

"I can't believe that we're actually on our way back to Hogwarts already," Lily said sadly.

"I thought you loved Hogwarts," Fred said.

"I do," Lily remarked, "but I've gotten so used to spending all day with you guys, and now I have to go back to being two years younger and in a different house."

"Hey, Lily, I never realized this before, but we never celebrated each other's birthdays last year."

Lily was stunned. George was right, they hadn't celebrated their birthdays, she didn't even think she knew when their birthday was. How had they missed something so big?

"I guess we really haven't. Mine's December 24th. I'll be turning thirteen. When's yours?"

"April 1st. We'll be fifteen."

"We will definitely have to do something extra special on both days, to make up from last year."

George smiled. He looked as if he was about to say something, but Fred launched into a very funny story about how Mrs. Weasley had forgotten the twin's seventh birthday completely. They swore it was the beginning of their troublemaking days. They had wanted to get her back for forgetting their birthday, so they played a prank on her. Once they had done it once and had realized how much they loved it, they had never stopped.

About an hour into the ride, Hermione stuck her head in their compartment.

"Oh, there you are. Have you guys seen Harry and Ron? I can't find them anywhere."

Fred shook his head. "I'm sure they're around somewhere. Keep looking and you'll find them."

Hermione nodded her head and continued her search down the hallway. Lily took a deep breath and faced the twins.

"I just checked. Neither of them are on the train."

George frowned. "Is there any way you could locate them?"

Lily shook her head. "They could be anywhere. Unless I have some idea where to look, it's really hard to find anyone. For all I know they could be back at Kings Cross and I don't think I can see that far away."

The rest of the ride passed by quickly. Lily ended up falling asleep on George's shoulder a couple of hours after lunch. She was awakened by George's hand on her cheek, stroking her hair. She was surprised at how smooth it was.

"Lily, wake up. We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes. We grabbed your robes for you. We'll be out in the hallway, so come get us when you're finished changing."

Lily sat up and George slowly stood up. Fred had already changed into his robes, but George was still dressed in muggle clothes.

"Sorry for keeping you from changing," Lily murmured. George smiled and reached for her hand.

He squeezed it and said, "Don't be. It's no problem at all."

Both he and Fred left the compartment. Lily reached over and grabbed her robes. She change and then opened the door for Fred and George. Fred came in first, followed moments later by George. He had somehow managed to change into his robes at the same time she had.

"Your turn," Fred muttered as he glanced at the luggage. George groaned.

"Hey, I got it up there, you can get it down." George reached up and dragged all three of the trunks down.

"George," Lily said softly, picking up Kiki, "you do know that we're supposed to leave our trunks on the train right?"

George gave her a playful glare. "You could have told me that before I got them down."

Lily smiled at him and then walked out of the compartment. Kiki swatted playfully at her long, dark hair. The train came to a stop and Lily climbed down. She heard Hagrid's familiar voice calling the first years over to him. Lily turned and waited for Fred and George to catch up with her. Lee had also joined up with them, so the four of them walked over to where the carriages were.

"What in the world?" Lily couldn't believe what she was seeing. In front of each of the carriages that were transporting the students to school were two large beasts. They had the body of a black horse (or a skeleton of one) and the wings of a large bat. The creature snorted at her as she approached it. It stuck its muzzle out and brushed up against her arm.

Kiki meowed and turned to stare at the creature's black eyes.

"Come on Lily," Lee called. She hopped into the carriage, but kept her eyes on the horse bat the entire ride.

Professor Snape was standing by the front entrance when their carriage approached the castle. Lily took one last look at the creature before walking past Snape and into the castle. He pulled her aside as she passed. George, Fred, and Lee stopped, but the glare that he gave them caused them to continue walking.

"You can see them?" he asked. Lily nodded.

"Is that bad?" she asked worriedly.

"Seeing a thestral means you have seen death. So, depending on who died decided whether it is good or bad."

"Who have you seen die, sir?" He was silent, his black eyes seeming to stare at nothing.

"Too many people," he said at last.

"I saw my grandfather die. I was probably six or seven at the time so I don't remember very well. He was at the hospital, and my uncle and I went to visit him. He died while I was standing right beside him."

Snape remained silent and Lily debated on whether or not to go join the rest of her peers.

"Are you still planning on continuing your lessons with me?"

Lily smiled. "Yes sir. As long as you are still willing to teach them."

Snape nodded his head. "You may join the rest of your house at the feast. I have some…business to attend to. I expect to see you at 8 o'clock on Tuesday evening."

Lily was excited that her lessons would be starting up again so soon. She was smiling as she sat down with the rest of the Slytherins. She glanced over at the Gryffindor table and spotted Fred and Lee in a heated discussion about something. George was sitting by Hermione, both with anxious looks on their faces.

Lily kept her mind out, aware of anything that might clue her in to the arrival of Harry and Ron. She watched, semi-attentively, as the first years filed in. As a boy named Collin Creevey walked up to be sorted, Lily felt rising panic from somewhere outside the school. She honed in on it to find Harry and Ron, sitting in the flying car, perched in the Womping Willow.

Once she was sure they were safely on the ground, she turned her attention on George.

_Harry and Ron are here,_ she said into his mind. She watched as he looked up startled. He turned around to look at her, but she looked away before he could meet her eyes.

_Just pretend that you are talking to me, and speak your thoughts in your mind. I will be able to hear them._

George's voice came through loud and clear. _Where are they?_

_They're being taken down to the dungeons by Snape. They flew the flying car here and it looks as though they're going to get into a lot of trouble for it._

At that moment Ginny was called forward, and the mental conversation paused so they could hear which house she was going to be sorted into.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat called. The entire table stood up and cheered. Lily bellowed at the top of her lungs, despite the strange looks she was given. Ginny glanced over at her as she sat down and gave her a big smile.

Lily watched as McGonagall slipped out while Dumbledore gave his opening speech for the year. Once everyone had started eating, he too slipped out of the room.

_Where are they all going? _George asked.

_They're going down to deal with Harry and Ron. Snape wants them expelled but I doubt McGonagall will go for that. The most they will get would be detentions and a letter written home._

Lily enjoyed the rest of the feast in silence. She knew by the facial expression on Snape's face when he entered the Great Hall that the boys had not been expelled. Once the students had been dismissed to go to their dormitories, Lily got up from the table and headed for the dungeons.

She had forgotten just how damp and dark the Slytherin common room was. The girls she roomed with were still just as nasty as they had been the year before. Lily claimed the same bed that she had slept in her first year. None of the other girls objected as she showered and got ready for bed, but she could hear their cruel thoughts, despite her efforts to drown them out. As she lay down under her covers, it wasn't the first time Lily wondered how she had ended up a Slytherin.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry that this chapter was so short. Things are about to get very interesting soon. Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter up tonight, if not you'll see it tomorrow. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine  
**

Chapter 4

Kiki ended up becoming Lily's savior during the first day of classes. There was no law of where the pets at Hogwarts were allowed to go, so Kiki followed Lily to every single one of her classes. Her first class of the day was Transfiguration, which, luckily, she happened to be good at. By the end of the class period, she had an entire handful of buttons that she had transformed from beetles.

Next up was Herbology, which wasn't so bad. Kiki stayed outside for that class since they were learning about mandrakes. Lily was afraid that Kiki could be hurt if she heard one of their cries, so she had put the kitten outside. Every once in a while, Lily would glance over her shoulder and see the grey fluff ball staring at her through the window.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was worse than she had imagined it could be. She had know that Lockhart was self-centered, but she had no idea that he was so bad that he would make up an entire quiz on the books they had all bought with questions that all had to do with himself. She didn't understand how his favorite color or secret ambition would ever help them in the real world.

Hermione, of course, got perfect scores on her paper. Lily didn't do half bad, but that was only because she had resorted to searching Lockhart's mind for over half the answers.

She also couldn't believe that Lockhart would be stupid enough to let a cage of Cornish pixies loose in the room, but apparently he was. He had left Harry, Ron, and Hermione in charge of cleaning up the room when the entire class left the room. The pixies, once let out of their cage, had gone wild and had started destroying the room. Lily had snuck out of the room as soon as possible. She felt bad about leaving her friends to fend for themselves, but she really wanted to find Fred and George.

She found them in the back of the library, pretending to read a book about divination.

"Hey," George greeted her in a quiet voice, so he didn't disturb the librarian. "Why are you here? Don't you have class now?"

Kiki jumped up onto George's lap and curled up into a ball. "Class was dismissed early today. Lockhart let some pixies loose and they destroyed the classroom."

Fred chuckled. "That's not a bad idea. We should do that sometime."

"Are you two skipping class already?"

George smiled. "We figured Divination wasn't really important for our long term goals."

"Ah, I see." Was Lily's response.

"Hey," Fred asked. "Do you want to skip with us this afternoon? We've got DADA."

Lily shook her head. "If I had history of magic, I would, but I've got –"

"Potions," the twins finished for her.

"Fine," George huffed. "I guess we'll have to settle for eating lunch with you."

"And…If you promise to eat Breakfast and dinner with us, every day, we'll go to DADA."

Lily smiled. "I think I can agree to that."

George smiled. "We can't make any promises about Divination though."

***

Lily was pleased, and somewhat surprised, that Snape had assigned Harry to be her partner for the year. She soon found out why. Snape hated Harry. Lily didn't know why, but as soon as Harry entered the room, Snape's mood instantly soured more than it usually was. By pairing up the two of them , and giving Lily specific instructions not to do the work for Harry, he practically had put Harry in a group by himself.

Lily found out, within the first ten minutes of their assignment, that Snape would yell at Harry and take points from Gryffindor whenever he spotted Lily doing anything. She had to resort to whispering directions to Harry whenever Snape's back was turned.

"Hey," Harry said, walking over to her once class had ended. "Thanks for trying to help me today. Not many people from your house would have done that."

Lily smiled. "Yeah. Sorry I can't help you any more."

Harry shrugged. "Snape being mean to me is nothing new."

"Do you have any idea why he hates you so much?" Lily asked.

Harry shook his head. "He hates all Gryffindors, but I don't know why he singles me out so much."

"Maybe once school gets going some more, he'll back off."

Harry didn't look convinced. "Yeah, maybe."

***

She had only been in class one week and already, Lily was swamped with homework. At least she had time to do her homework Saturday night, unlike Harry and Ron. They had to serve their detentions for flying the car to school that night. Finding a secluded spot in the common room, Lily curled up on one of the armchairs to get started. She sat in that chair and scribbled away at, first, her transfiguration essay, and then the one for charms. She yawned and glanced at the clock. Quarter til eleven. She probably still had time to do her potions essay on Sunday, but she was still wide awake.

Lily reached down for another piece of parchment and froze. Her blood turned cold and her heart skipped a beat. She felt something stir within the school. Something ancient, and deadly. Lily could feel the hunger the creature had, and it frightened her. Her breathing grew rapid as panic started to set in.

Without another thought, Lily leapt up from the chair she had been sitting in and raced out of the common room. Panic was driving her now. Whatever connection she had experienced with the thing had disappeared. All she had was the feeling of pure horror, engraved in her mind.

Lily raced down the hallway and up the stairs. She didn't stop until she reached the front doors of the castle. When she tried to open them she found they were locked. "Alohomora!" she shouted. The doors didn't budge. Lily turned around and raced up the stairs, searching for a way out. The panic had taken a hold of her. She had to get away from whatever it was that she had sensed.

A small meow sounded from down the hall. Lily stopped running and saw Kiki standing by a door a few feet behind her. Without another thought, Lily raced towards the door.

She slammed the door shut and raced to the window. Flinging it open, she took a deep breath and sank to the ground, completely exhausted.

What had happened? She thought back to what Harry had told them earlier in the summer. Was this the beginning of the terrible things that were supposed to happen? Lily had never felt anything so horrible before. That creature had a hunger, and Lily didn't think it was only for food. It wanted something more, but for the life of her, she could not figure it out.

Too afraid to go back to the common room, Lily glanced around for anything she could use for bedding. She saw an old quilt folded up in the corner of the room. Lily summoned it over with her wand. She wrapped it around herself and closed her eyes. Kiki padded over to her and curled up against her chest. Her soft purring gave Lily some sense of comfort.

That was when she heard it for the first time. The ice-cold voice, filled with venom.

"_Come…come to me…Let me rip you…Let me tear you…Let me kill you…"_

Lily froze and for the second time that night felt a chill spread through her body. Her eyes went wide, trying to sense any danger around her, but there was nothing. There was no way to tell where the voice had come from. It seemed to echo around the whole school, soft, but menacing.

It was dawn by the time Lily fell asleep. She didn't remain that way for long. Dreams, filled with darkness and fear haunted her until she awoke, screaming. Something was beginning for sure, something terrible.


	13. Chapter 13

**Just so you know, the previous chapter was labeled wrong. It should have been chapter 5 of book 2, not chapter 4. Finally things are starting to get interesting again. Hope you guys like this chapter. Keep up on the reviews. I really like reading them.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does :)  
**

Chapter 6

"What, may I ask, is this?" Snape barked as he handed back the essay he had assigned the previous week. Lily groaned, looking at the red markings all across the paper. Snape had held her back at the end of class to talk with her about something important, and Lily knew it was going to be about her grades.

"I'm really sorry professor. I haven't been sleeping well, that's all."

For the past two months, Lily had barely gotten any sleep. She was lucky if she managed to get 4 hours a night. If she did, it was never consecutive. Dreams still haunted her sleep and she often woke up soaking wet. She had to place a silencing charm around her bed in order to keep the other girls from hearing her screams of terror.

"Obviously," Snape said sternly. When Lily didn't respond, Snape sat back in his chair. "I expect more from you Miss Rain."

"I know sir. I'll try harder."

Snape grunted and Lily took that as her invitation to leave. She shoved the essay in her bag and walked out.

Lily had half a mind to skip the Halloween feast. Last year, a troll had escaped in the castle, and even though she hadn't heard or sensed the creature in over a month, she still felt uneasy as she walked the halls of the school.

Figuring Fred and George would kill her if she skipped out on them, Lily walked up the stairs and towards the Great Hall. She took her usual seat between Fred and George. They greeted her warmly, but before they could start up a conversation, Dumbledore stood up to make his announcements. Once he was finished, he clapped his hands and food appeared on all of the plates.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" George asked her quietly.

"Yeah," she murmured. She grabbed a roll and some butter and put it on her plate. Once she had gotten that down, she started to feel a little better. Soon she was eating and talking happily, all bad thoughts out of her mind.

They were halfway through dessert when Lily heard it.

"…_rip…tear…kill…"_

The voice had the same paralyzing effect as it had the night she had first heard it. She froze, mid bite, earning her some peculiar stares from Lee and Fred. George placed his hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked alarmed.

"Nothing," she managed to choke out through her mounting fear.

"…_so hungry…for so long…"_

The creature was moving. Lily could feel it. She sat there at the table, unsure of what to do. Her instincts screamed at her to run, but she couldn't without drawing a lot of attention to herself. People might start asking questions. She knew that hearing voices, especially cold, demented ones, was not a normal thing for wizards.

"…_kill…time to kill…"_

Lily didn't have long to deliberate. Moments later, Dumbledore signaled the end of the feast. A wave of students stood up and walked out the door. Lily followed Fred, George, and Lee to the hallway that lead to the moving staircases. They were almost there when Lily heard the voice, louder than ever before.

"…_I smell blood…I SMELL BLOOD!"_

Lily knew the creature was about to kill someone. Panic entered her mind as she struggled with what to do.

A crowd of students were blocking the hallway. She, Fred, and George squeezed their way through, leaving Lee behind them.

The sight in front of her made her heart stop cold. Mrs. Norris was hanging from the wall, as stiff as a board. The reflection in the water on the floor showed red lettering on the wall. Lily looked up, and there written in blood was a message:

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

What did the message mean? What was the Chamber of Secrets, and who had opened it?

"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next mudbloods!" Lily looked beside her to find Draco standing smugly off to the side, his usual thugs right behind him.

Lily reached her hand out and placed it on George's arm, calming him. She had felt him tense up at Malfoy's comment and didn't want her friend getting into any fights.

"What's going on here? What's going on?" Filch the caretaker asked as he pushed himself through the body of students. When his eyes fell on Mrs. Norris, he clutched his face in horror.

"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?" His eyes fell on Harry, who was standing in the middle of the congregation of students, with Ron and Hermione by his side.

"You!" he screeched, pointing his bony finger at Harry. "_You!_ You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll – "

_"Argus!"_

The body of students parted t let the headmaster and a few other teachers through.

"Come with me Argus. You too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger."

Lily watched as the three of them walked down the hallway and entered Professor Lockhart's office. The students immediately started talking about what had happened. Some of the prefects began ushering their houses back to their dormitories.

Lily glanced at Fred and George. "I guess I should go back down to the dungeon," she said.

"Do you know anything?" Fred asked quietly, so no one else would hear. Lily shook her head.

"Rats, I thought maybe you had heard something."

Lily had thought about telling the twins about the voice she had heard, but decided in the end to keep her mouth shut. Nothing good could come of being able to understand the creature that had attacked Mrs. Norris. That she knew.

***

The school talked about nothing else but Mrs. Norris's attack for the rest of the week. Lily, like many other students, spent her time in the library, reading up on anything she could about the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione had convinced Professor Binns to tell them what he knew about the chamber. Apparently, when Salazar Slytherin had left Hogwarts, he had created this secret chamber so that when his heir returned to Hogwarts, the school could be purged of all muggleborns attending the school.

Unlike Hermione, who was spending most of her time looking up what she could about the chamber, Lily decided to discover more about Slytherin. So far she hadn't found out much more than she already knew.

"Ugh!" she huffed as she slammed one of the library books down on the table. Fred and George smiled at her.

"Having a bit of difficulty there?" Fred asked.

"I can't find anything in any of these books about Salazar Slytherin. The only time I even see his name is when there is a reference about the founding of Hogwarts, but nothing is said besides the fact that he was one of the four founders."

"Did you know," Lee said through a mouthful of chicken, "that Slytherin was a Parselmouth?"

This caught Lily's attention. "Really? He was?"

Lee nodded. "Yup. He was one of the first. That's why the Slytherin insignia is a serpent."

"Hmm. Interesting." She didn't want to say any more, but the wheels were already starting to turn in her mind.

After lunch, Lily headed off to potions class. She passed Neville in the hallway, who was staring out the window.

"Neville," Lily said as she approached him, "What are you doing?"

"Isn't that peculiar? How those spiders are moving, all in a line like that. I've never seen that before."

"Yes, it is quite peculiar," Lily responded, not giving it a second thought. "You'd better hurry up. Who knows what Snape would do to you if you end up being late."

Neville paled and Lily instantly regretted her choice of words. She walked with him to class and gave him a reassuring smile as she took her seat next to Harry.

Snape kept an extra careful eye on the pair of them that day, so Harry ended up doing the entire potion himself. Lily sat at the desk next to him, reading one of the books she had checked out from the library, and shooting Harry sympathetic looks whenever she could.

She was about to slam the book down in frustration when a tiny paragraph on the next page caught her eye.

_Parseltongue: the language of the snakes. Very few Wizards in the world are gifted with this ability. It can be learned, but is extremely difficult. Those that are not born with it often have great difficulties understanding it fully. The ability is hereditary._

Lily sat and reread the paragraph multiple times. Parseltongue was hereditary? Her mind struggled to make the connection she felt was there, just beyond her reach. She caught a glimpse of Draco's robe, and suddenly it made sense in her mind.

Salazar Slytherin was the first known Parselmouth, and that ability was hereditary. That meant she had to be related to Slytherin.

Lily felt very mixed about this. She wasn't very keen about the possibility of being an Heir of Slytherin. She knew that she hadn't been the one to attack Mrs. Norris, but she was somehow related to the person that had. She did, however, feel a bit of excitement welling up inside of her.

She had always wanted to know who her father was, ever since she was a little girl and old enough to understand what had happened between her mother and father. This could be a link that would get her closer to discovering who she was, and who he was.

With that thought in her mind, Lily spent the rest of the day thinking about finally being able to figure out her past. It filled her with excitement to know that she was one step closer to finding her father.


	14. Chapter 14

**Just a heads up, I'm leaving for NYC on Thursday morning, so this might be the last update until Saturday night or Sunday morning. I might get lucky and finish another chapter tomorrow, but if not, I'm sorry. I hope you like this chapter. Review, review, review :)**

**Oh, and sorry about any of the confusion my last chapter caused. I responded to your reviews, so I hope I cleared everything up.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.  
**

Chapter 7

"You're coming to watch us in the game today right?" Fred asked excitedly as he sat down for breakfast.

"Of course, Fred. I wouldn't miss seeing George play for the world." George smirked as he took a bite of his cereal.

"You cant miss my awesome commentating skills either," Lee protested.

Lily laughed. "I wouldn't forget you Lee."

"Um, hello, what about me?" Fred asked waving his arms around.

"What about you?" Lily asked innocently.

Fred scowled. He crossed his arms in a huff and stared at his empty plate. "You're lucky I like you."

Harry and Ron entered the room and took their seats across the table, next to Lee. Ron began to pile food onto his plate and wolf it down, but Harry only picked at his food.

"You have to eat something Harry," Hermione coaxed, turning her attention from her books to her friend. "What are you worried about?"

"Malfoy's dad got the entire team Nimbus 2001's. We're going to get clobbered," Harry muttered.

"Come on Harry," Fred said encouragingly, "We'll do fine. Like Hermione said before, Malfoy bought his way onto the team. You are still the best seeker we've had in a long time. You can out fly Malfoy in a heartbeat."

Harry smiled at that. He began to eat more of his breakfast. By the time he was done, most of the students in the Great Hall had left to go get ready for the match.

"We should get down to the pit," George said. "We'll see you later."

Lily smiled. "I'll be the only green in a sea of red and gold."

Fred, George, and Harry laughed at that. Lily watched as they headed down to the Quidditch stadium. She grabbed her bag and stood up.

"I'm going to go grab my coat. I'll meet you guys back here at 10:30? That way we can get good seats."

"Sure," Hermione answered. "We'll be here waiting."

Lily was sure to fetch her rain coat instead of the one she normally wore. The sky had been cloudy that morning at breakfast, and there looked to be darker clouds rolling in from the west.

At 10:30, Ron, Hermione, and Lily walked down to the stadium. They took their seats in the middle of the Gryffindor section, right in front of Dean, Seamus, and Neville. Dean and Seamus gave Lily dirty looks, but Neville smiled and waved to her.

"Are you coming to join us today, Lily?" he asked excitedly. Lily smiled.

"Of course I am. I have to root for George, you know, and I wouldn't miss Lee's commentating."

Neville smiled, but Ron only looked confused. "Hang on , what about Fred?"

Hermione and Lily started giggling and didn't stop for another five minutes. By then Ron had turned a bright shade of red.

"What's so funny?"

"Lily's only joking, Ron. Of course she's here for Fred too," Hermione answered, still smiling.

A roar erupted from the stadium as the Gryffindor team walked onto the field. Lily's eyes went directly to George. He and Fred were standing by Harry. They seemed to be giving him words of encouragement.

Madame Hooch signaled for the two captains to shake hands. The entire stadium had their eyes on the middle of the field, anxiously waiting for the start of the game.

The whistle blew and the fourteen players kicked off from the ground. Lily watched as Harry soared up higher than the rest. Out of nowhere, a bludger pelted towards Harry, he barely got out of the way in time.

George flew up to Harry and whacked the bludger towards one of the Slytherin players. It went soaring in the direction it had been sent, but changed paths in midair and bee lined for Harry again.

Harry dropped and George hit the bludger towards Malfoy this time. Again, the bludger changed courses and aimed itself for Harry.

What was going on? Bludgers weren't supposed to single out one person and follow them the whole game. Lily watched as Harry flew around the stadium, the bludger close behind him. Fred was waiting for it and sent it way off course.

Lily pulled her hood up and squished closer to Hermione as the rain started to fall.

"Someone's tampered with that bludger," Hermione informed her as they followed Harry with their eyes.

Fred and George had stayed close by Harry's side, fending off the bludger whenever it came near.

"Slytherin lead, sixty points to zero," Lee's voice sounded across the stadium. Lily groaned. With Fred and George so preoccupied with trying to protect Harry, the other bludger had been free to wreak havoc against the other Gryffindor players, preventing many scores.

Finally, Wood called a timeout. Harry, Fred, and George had to dive down to the ground to avoid getting clobbered by the rouge bludger.

From her seat, Lily could see Oliver yelling at the twins. They protested, gesturing ti tge field where the bludger was circling, waiting.

The seven Gryffindors took to the sky at the sound of the whistle. Fred and George flew away from Harry, keeping their attention on the rest of the game. Harry shot off in one direction, twisting and turning in the air to try and shake the bludger off.

He reached a point and slowed to a stop. Harry looked as if he was talking to Malfoy, but Lily was too far away to tell.

She winced as the bludger came out of nowhere and rammed into Harry's arm. Hermione inhaled sharply. "That must have really hurt."

The two girls watched in horror as Harry lurched forward on his broom. Malfoy flew out of the way just in time. Harry went careening towards the ground, his right hand hanging limply by his side, and his left hand clenched around something.

"He's got the snitch," Lily breathed as she started moving towards the field. She pushed past a bunch of Gryffindor students. Many of them gave her dirty looks, but she ignored them. Hermione and Ron followed closely. They were approaching the stairs when Harry slid his broom into the ground. He didn't look to be injured any more than his arm, but Lily wanted to get down there, to make sure.

Ron and Hermione overtook her as the three of them raced across the field, barely aware of the roar from the crowd, signaling Gryffindor had won. A crowd of people had surrounded Harry, mostly from the Gryffindor team, but Lily noticed, to her dismay, Professor Lockhart was kneeling on the ground.

"Oh no," she murmured when she saw what had happened. Harry was sitting on the ground, clutching his injured arm to his chest, but he wasn't in any pain. No, Lockhart had taken care of that. He had made Harry's bone disappear.

***

One thing Lily couldn't understand was why people insisted on believing that Harry was possibly the one behind the attacks at school. When Collin had been found petrified, people had started to grow warier of him, regardless of the fact that he had been in the hospital wing that night, re-growing the bones in his arm.

At the beginning of December Professor McGonagall passed around the list of students that would be remaining at Hogwarts for the holidays. Lily conferred with Fred and George before eagerly signing her name on the parchment. She enjoyed her time off of school, especially because she could spend it with the twins.

A week after she had asserted that she was remaining at Hogwarts for the holidays, news about the dueling club began to circulate around the school. Lily was intrigued about the idea of having a dueling club at Hogwarts until she saw who was running it.

"Lockhart," she groaned as she slumped down at the Gryffindor table. It was one of the very few times that George and Fred weren't right by each other.

George chuckled. "What has that idiot done now?"

"He's the one teaching us to duel tonight."

George's smile widened. Lily sat up slowly, her eyes narrowing. "What are you thinking?" she asked sternly.

"Nothing, just that it is going to be a heck of a lot easier to cause a bit of mischief with him running the whole thing."

Lily smiled back, the wheels in her head already turning. "Excellent. I like the way you think."

At precisely 8 o'clock, Lily and George were standing in the crowd of students, facing the large golden stage that had replaced the tables. Fred and Lee had somehow gotten separated from them and were now standing on the other side, directly across from them.

"Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!

"Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions – for full details, see my published works."

Lily snorted. This guy was a complete and utter joke.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape. He tells me he knows a tiny little but about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry – you'll still have your potions master when I'm through with him, never fear."

"More likely Snape will finish him off instead of the other way around," George murmured in her ear. Lily smiled and turned her attention on the two professors in the middle of the room.

The two professors faced off. They bowed to each other and raised their wands. Lockhart explained to them what they were about to do. On the count of three Snape yelled, "Expeliarmus!"

Lockhart was blasted backwards, his wand flying from his hand.

"Well there you have it!" Lockhart said as he walked back over to his spot. "That was the Disarming Charm – as you see, I've lost my wand – ah, thank you, Miss Brown – yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind me saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you, it would have been too easy."

Lily nudged George and nodded her head towards Snape, who was fuming. "If looks could kill," she whispered.

"Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me – "

Lockhart and Snape circled the room, pairing off each of the students. Lily watched as Snape reached Harry, Ron and Hermione, pairing them each with Malfoy, Seamus, and Millicent Bulstrode.

When Snape reached Lily, he looked at her for a moment, unmoving. She shifted her weight and leaned in closer to George. She felt him stiffen in surprise, but quickly relax again.

"Miss Rain, you may Partner with Mr. Weasley," he said as he moved on to the next set of students.

George smiled. "I can't believe he let us be together."

"That's what can happen if you get on his good side."

Lily and George faced each other as Lockhart gave the instructions. They bowed and raised their wands.

At the count of three, all hell broke loose. There were spells flying everywhere. Some pairs even forgot to use their wands entirely and ended up wrestling with each other, trying to prove who was the strongest.

"Stop! Stop! I said disarm only."

Once the crowd of students had settled down, Lockhart called Harry and Draco up to the stage to demonstrate how to block spells. Lily watched as Lockhart tried to demonstrate the shield charm, but ended up only dropping his wand.

"One. Two. Three."

"Serpensortia!" Malfoy cried. A long black snake erupted from the tip of his wand. Harry lowered his wand, and gazed curiously at the snake.

"Don't move Potter," Snape said lazily, taking a step forward. "I'll get rid of it for you."

Lockhart cut him off. "Allow me!" he flicked his wand and there was a loud bang. The snake shot up in the air and landed with a thud. Furiously, it turned its attention to the nearest human, Justin Finch-Fletchley.

Lily was about to jump up and stop the snake when Harry took a step forward.

"Leave him alone!"

The hall went silent. Every eye was on Harry. Lily didn't realize what had happened until George spoke.

"Bloody hell, Harry's a Parselmouth."

"What are you playing at?" Justin asked. Harry looked confused. Of course, he didn't realize that he had just spoken another language to the snake. Lily hadn't even realized it. She watched as Ron and Hermione ushered him out. As soon as the three of them had left the room, the talking started.

"Did you hear that?"

"He can talk to snakes."

"Does that mean that he's the Heir of Slytherin?"

"Harry wouldn't attack Collin, would he?"

"It looked like he wanted the snake to attack Justin just now."

The questions went on and on. Lockhart and Snape didn't bother gaining any control over the students. They were too shocked to do anything. Lily bid George a good night and started walking towards her common room. Slowly but surely, the rest of the students followed suit.

Where had Harry learned to speak Parseltongue? Had he been born with the ability? From the confusion on his face, Lily guessed he had. Did that mean he was a descendent of Salazar Slytherin too? Or did he gain the ability by another way? Lily tossed and turned that night, searching for answers to her questions, but none came.


	15. Chapter 15

**Yay!!!! I've been waiting to write this part for a loooooong time, so I hope you all like it. Reviews would be lovely :) I cant believe the second book is almost done now...it went by so quickly. Still a few things left to write and then I'll be on to book three. This will most likely be the last chapter I write before leaving for NYC tomorrow, so I hope that it was a good one**. **I will update as soon as I possibly can. Hopefully many new ideas will hit me on the ride there and back :) Enjoy!!**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine, nor ever will be.  
**

Chapter 8

The following day's Herbology class had been canceled due to the blizzard that had blown in the night before. Since Fred and George had Transfiguration at that time, they couldn't skip, so Lily was stuck spending an entire hour by herself.

After a few minutes of debate, she decided to check out the library. Since the beginning of November, she hadn't had any chance to research anything about Slytherin, and she really wanted to know more about him and his family line.

Lily walked over to Madam Pince's desk and waited patiently for her to finish whatever she was doing. Eventually, she looked up, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she snapped.

"Do you have any books about Salazar Slytherin himself? It doesn't matter if the Chamber of Secrets is mentioned or not."

Madam Pince frowned. She walked over to the back shelf and rummaged through a box of books on the floor. "I have this," she said, handing Lily an old, tattered book. "I don't know if it's what you're looking for."

"Thank you." Lily took the book and walked over to an abandoned corner. She opened it up and a cloud of dust emerged. Coughing, Lily began to flip through the pages of the book.

Memorable Witches and Wizards of the Ages was the title. As she turned the pages, Lily recognized very few of the ones mentioned. Merlin she recognized from something she had read about in History of Magic, and Dumbledore was in the book as well, but the others were strangers to her.

The founders of Hogwarts were towards the end of the book. She paused when she came to Salazar Slytherin's chapter. At the very beginning there was a list of names that Lily soon realized was a family tree.

It was difficult to make out a majority of the names. She could decipher Slytherin's name, as well as the names of his wife and children. A few names were legible in generations after that, but not many.

Her heart started beating faster as she approached the bottom of the page. The number of people on the tree had dwindled significantly as she reached the very last line.

_Morfin Gaunt_ and _Merope Gaunt_. Merope, strange a name as it was, seemed to be a feminine name to Lily. Did that mean that her father's name was Morfin? She looked at his date of birth and date of death, and her heart sank. He was far too old to be her father. He had, in fact, died before she had even been born.

A small piece of handwriting, in the bottom left hand corner of the page caught her attention. She had to squint her eyes in order to see what it said. It was definitely a name. Tom. Tom Marvolo Riddle. His name stemmed off of Merope Gaunt and his birth date was the exact day of her death.

Lily's heart leapt. This man, Tom, was the right age to be her father. Granted, he was a little old, probably sixty some years old now, but that wasn't so bad. Lily wondered what had happened to him. Had he died? Was that why no one seemed to know about him? Maybe he had died shortly after Lily had been conceived, and once Lily's mother had given birth to her, had killed herself out of grief for the man she loved. It was a tragic story, but surely it was possible.

Or maybe he had no idea he had a daughter. Maybe Lily's mother had never told him. Would he want to be her father? Did she even know how to reach him? All of these questions were swimming through Lily's mind as she packed up her things and headed for her next class.

"I can't believe that Dumbledore is gone," Fred said, staring down at his plate full of food. The announcement had just been made that morning that Professor Dumbledore had been suspended as the Headmaster by the Ministry of Magic the night before.

Loud laughter erupted from the Slytherin table. Lily glanced over and saw Draco sitting on top of the table, talking to Pansy and Millicent. Rage boiled up inside of her and she stood up, much to the protest of Fred and George. She marched right up to Draco and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Is this some kind of joke to you?" she hissed. He just smirked back at her.

"People are being attacked, by this monster we know nothing about. Mrs. Norris, Collin, Justin, Hermione, Penelope, they could have _died_."

"Pitty they didn't," Draco stated. "This school is much better off without them."

Lily resisted the urge to slap him. "It could have been you," she said, barely above a whisper. All of the students around her now had their eyes glued on her.

"Pardon?"

"It. Could. Have. Been. You. You think you're so invincible, Draco, but you're not. Any one of the people here could have been killed by that monster. Do you think it cares what the lineage of the person walking down the hallway towards it is? It doesn't care. It's hungry to kill, and sooner or later, it will."

Draco snorted, but Lily could sense that she was getting through to him, somewhat.

"By getting your daddy to get rid of Dumbledore for you, you've put the people in this school at risk, even more so than they had been before. And that includes yourself."

She walked away before he could say anything else. Fred and George were waiting to congratulate her, but she walked right past them. She had only said what she thought because she truly believed it. It had nothing to do with making Draco look like a fool. Although, that had been a perk.

Lily was in her dorm later that afternoon, looking at her notes. She had decided on skipping out on History of Magic. The class was boring normally, and she wasn't in the mood to pay attention to a ghost lecture about the trials of witches and wizards during the eleventh century.

She opened up to the page where she had written her father's name. She was sure, by now, after the months of research that she had done on the Slytherin family tree, that Tom Marvolo Riddle was her father. There was no one else it could have been. However, she still wasn't any closer to finding out who he was.

Her mind drifted back to the events that had happened in the previous months. Justin Finch-Fletchley had been attacked. The monster had also ended up getting Nearly-Headless Nick too. Since he was already dead, it must have taken a very powerful creature to cause him to look like he did.

Hermione, too, had been petrified. She had been found on the day of the Quidditch finals. Since the attack had been a double one, Professor McGonagall had canceled Quidditch until the culprit had been caught and the attacks stopped.

The thing that Lily had found peculiar was the fact that both Hermione and Penelope had been found with mirrors in their hands. Lily felt that was a very important piece to the puzzle, but she couldn't figure out how to put it together with what she already knew.

Now that Dumbledore was gone, Lily knew that things were going to get worse. Dumbledore was a very powerful wizard that instilled respect in many wizards, and fear in many others…

Lily's thoughts trailed off as she looked at the letters on the page. Three of them had jumped out at her, and she was beginning to feel a sense of foreboding

Mar**vol**o.

She wrote the letters down again, this time at the front of the name.

Vol.

Rid**d**l**e**.

De.

**Tom. R**iddle

Mort.

Voldemort.

This had to be a mistake. It was merely a coincidence that letters in her father's name spelled out the name of the most feared wizard of the era. It had to be.

Lily felt the mounting horror as she rearranged the rest of the letters. She willed her hand not to write it down, as if that very act would somehow make it not true. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she read the newly formed phrase.

I am Lord Voldemort.

Lily sat frozen on her bed for what seemed like ages. Her mind kept reading and rereading what she had discovered, seemingly unable to believe it.

Then, without warning, she leapt up from her bed. She crumpled up the paper and threw it into the fireplace.

"Incendio!" she shouted and the paper burst into flames.

Without looking back, Lily raced from the room. She ran up the stairs and down the hallway, heading for the moving staircases. All of the students and teachers were in class at the time, so there was no one in the hallway to see her.

Lily kept running, tears streaming down her face, until she reached her destination. The astronomy tower.

She hadn't even realized that she was headed there until she climbed the familiar spiral staircase and saw the telescopes put away neatly in their cases. Lily walked over to the balcony, and stared out at the grounds below her.

Voldemort was her father. She was the daughter of the horrid monster that had killed so many people, and harmed so many others. Harry's parents, Neville's parents, so many other lives had been ruined by him, and she knew that many more would come.

Lily took a step up onto the railing. Fresh tears began to fall as she thought of Fred and George. They would be devastated in the morning, to find out what had happened to her. But there was nothing she could do. The blood that ran through her veins was the blood of the evilest wizard of the century. She hated herself for it.

Footsteps sounded behind her, quick and heavy. Lily didn't care. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Would it hurt? Or would she be gone before she could fully feel the impact of the ground as her body hit the floor below her?

A strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist and flung her away from the edge of the balcony. Lily stumbled and almost lost her footing. When she had regained her balance, she turned to find an angry and horrified George.

"What. The. Hell." He growled, staring at her straight in the eyes, "is your problem?

Lily glared back defiantly. She felt like a little kid again, getting in trouble with her uncle for something she did wrong.

"What's _my_ problem?" She nearly shouted at him. "What's _your_ problem? No one asked you to come here! What, do you go bursting into every room that strikes your fancy?"

George's eyes widened. "My apologies, I wasn't aware that I needed an invitation to stop my best friend from jumping off of the Astronomy Tower," he snarled.

"I don't need you!" Lily screamed, tears running down her face. "I was doing just fine!"

"The hell you don't!" George was furious now, and he too was crying. "If it weren't for me, you'd be dead!"

"I'm better off dead!!!"

George's anger melted away for a moment. "What?" he managed to choke out.

Lily pulled her hand away as George reached for it. "Don't touch me!" she snarled.

The anger was back. "Did you even bother to think about the people you would leave behind? What about Hermione? You were her first friend. And Harry? He's already lost both his parents; does he have to lose you too? And Fred, he's one of your best friends. Would you really be so selfish? To leave him behind?

"And what about me?" His voice had softened, and Lily could see the tears rolling down his cheeks. "Did you even think about how I would feel, discovering your body, broken and – and –" George let out a sob and covered his mouth with his hand. He couldn't finish the sentence. He shut his eyes, as if he could block out the agonizing image.

"Why?" he asked softly, regaining some of his composure.

Lily didn't answer. Her tears continued to fall as inside of her, she was screaming to tell George the truth about herself, but she was too afraid. Afraid he would reject her.

"Why?" George asked again.

Lily just shook her head. George stepped towards her and placed his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest and let out a sob.

"Shh…" George whispered. "It's ok. You can tell me. What happened? Why are you so upset?"

Lily took a deep breath and looked up at George. "I found out who my father is," she said, just above a whisper.

"Who?" George breathed.

"Voldemort."

"Are you sure?" he asked. There was no disgust in his voice, no sign of the horror Lily was expecting.

She nodded. "There's no doubt. I'm a Parselmouth, which means I'm descended from Salazar Slytherin. Tom, Voldemort's real name, was the last documented descendent of Slytherin. He was the only one on the family tree that was remotely close enough to be my father." Lily was blabbering now, she knew it, but she couldn't stop herself.

"Lily," George stopped her. He placed his hand on her cheek and forced her to look up at him. His eyes were still wet with tears, but he wasn't looking at her angrily anymore. His gaze was soft, and tender.

Lily's heart leapt as he brushed a strand of her silky black hair away from her face.

"I don't give a damn who your father is," he said fiercely. "Who he was makes no difference to who you are. I like you, a lot, and the face that your father is the greatest dark wizard of the century makes no difference to who you are, or how I feel towards you."

Lily was speechless. A wave of happiness washed through her, and she started crying again.

"Thank you," she said, hugging George close to her.

George wrapped his arm around her waist and stroked her hair. She looked up at him as he spoke again.

"I'm always here for you, Lily."

His hand moved from her hair to her cheek as he slowly brushed her tears away. Lily's stomach flipped as George stared into her eyes. Never before had she seen eyes so blue. Her heart started to race as he drew closer to her. His eyes seemed to shine with some unsaid emotion, something Lily couldn't figure out.

They both froze, their faces inches from each other. George's eyes flickered down, and then returned to meet her gaze. Lily could feel his breath on her face, and could see each individual freckle on his nose.

"_All students return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately please."_ Came McGonagall's voice, echoing throughout the castle.

Lily and George broke apart, startled. Something flashed behind George's eyes, but Lily didn't get a long enough chance to figure out what it was.

"What do you suppose had happened now?" George asked her as they exited the tower.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it can't be good."

Lily could feel it, deep in her gut, that something was horribly wrong.


	16. Chapter 16

**Book 2 is DONE!!! Please, let me know what you think of the story. I absolutely love getting reviews. On to book 3!!!**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.  
**

Chapter 9

Nothing could have prepared Lily for what happened next. She and George walked back downstairs, headed for the first floor where they would part ways.

Professor McGonagall was just stepping into her office when Lily and George turned down the hall. When she caught sight of the two of them, her face fell.

"Mr. Weasley, may I see you in my office please. You may join him if he wishes, Miss Rain." Lily followed Professor McGonagall into her office.

"You may want to sit down," she said sternly as she paced back and forth in front of the door. Lily didn't like the feeling she was getting. She felt as if she were going to be sick. George sat down on the couch and Lily sat beside him. He looked almost as bad as she felt.

Instinctively, Lily reached for his hand and intertwined her fingers with him. He smiled as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

The minutes ticked by, but McGonagall said nothing. She seemed to be waiting for something, or someone.

Footsteps were heard down the hallway and in walked Percy and Fred. Professor McGonagall invited them to sit down as well. Fred took a seat in the big comfy armchair, but Percy remained standing.

"What is this about Professor?" Percy asked.

McGonagall took a deep breath and looked straight into Percy's eyes. "Our worst fear has been realized. A student has been taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself."

Lily felt her blood run cold. She felt George squeeze her hand tighter. "Ginny," he gasped.

"Well, we can't just sit here!" Fred yelled, jumping up, "We have to do something!"

McGonagall shook her head. She was about to say something when a flash of green erupted from the fireplace. Out of it stepped Professor Dumbledore. Taking in the scene around him, he said, "I trust Minerva has told you the situation we are in?"

"Please, sir," Percy said, "isn't there something you can do?"

Dumbledore looked sad. "Alas, I cannot. I haven't a clue where the entrance to the chamber is, and even if I did, I doubt I would be able to open it."

Percy looked like he wanted to argue more, but couldn't find a response to what the Headmaster had said.

"I am deeply sorry boys, now if you'll excuse me, I must go make sure the rest of the students are safe." Lily watched as Dumbledore walked out of the room.

"You all may wait here for your parents to arrive. They should be here within the hour. If you wish, I can go up to Gryffindor tower to retrieve your younger brother, if you desire to be together as a family."

"He's not up there," Fred said quietly.

McGonagall looked shocked. "What do you mean he's not up there? All students were to return to their dormitories."

"I know. He said something about going to wish Lockhart good luck. I don't know why he and Harry would want to do that in the first place. They hate Lockhart."

Professor McGonagall snorted as if she found something about the situation funny. "Professor Lockhart has been boasting for the past week about how he knows where the Chamber of Secrets is, and how to get into it. We, as teachers, gave him the task of rescuing Miss Weasley to get him out of the way while we try and figure out what to do."

"They went to find the Chamber," Lily said suddenly. All four pairs of eyes were turned directly on her.

"Pardon me?" McGonagall said, astounded.

"Harry and Ron have gone with Lockhart. How can you expect them not to? Ginny is Ron's little sister and Harry and Ron are best friends. They would do everything in their power to save her."

"But – but – " McGonagall sputtered. "How would they have found the entrance?"

"I don't know. But of course they would figure it out. Hermione is their best friend. She probably had it all figured out before she was…"

Lily trailed off, thinking of the mirror that had been found with Hermione.

"A basilisk," she said softly. "The monster in the Chamber is a basilisk.

"It makes perfect sense! Basilisks kill on sight, but no one that was attacked looked it directly in the eyes. Mrs. Norris saw its reflection in the floor, and Collin saw it through his camera. Justin through Nicholas, and Hermione and Penelope in the mirror."

"Well this is just fine and dandy," McGonagall said, "but how does it help us?"

Before Lily could come up with an answer, the fire glowed green again and Molly and Arthur Weasley stepped out. Mrs. Weasely immediately went around and hugged all of her children, including Lily.

"Where's Ron?" she asked frantically.

"We fear he and Harry have gone looking for Ginny in the chamber," McGonagall said. Mrs. Weasley lost it. She started bawling into her husband's shoulders. George lifted up his arm and wrapped it around Lily's shoulders, pulling her tighter to him.

"Is there anything we can do Minerva?" Mr. Weasley asked as he tried to comfort his wife.

Lily's wheels were still turning. She knew there was a piece of the big picture that she was missing, but she had no clue what it could be.

Minute by minute passed by as the group waited anxiously for some kind of news. Lily snuggled up close to George and enjoyed the warmth of his body against hers. In a way, it was comforting.

She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew she heard someone scream.

"_Ginny!" _Mrs. Weasley leapt to her feet, followed closely by Mr. Weasley, and ran over to her daughter, enveloping her in a giant hug.

Lily took in the sight before her. Ginny, Ron, Lockhart, and Harry were all covered in a thick layer of grime, and in Harry's case, blood. How the four of them had gotten out of the chamber was a mystery to her.

When asked how he had managed everything, Harry launched into a long explanation of everything. Lily listened patiently, her hand still intertwined with George's, as Harry described the voices he had heard, and Hermione's realization, and the spiders, and Moaning Myrtle.

When he got to the part about Tom Riddle, Lily began to feel sick. So all of this had been Voldemort's fault. Everyone that had been attacked, could have died because of him. It only made her hate herself even more.

When Harry was finished, the Weasleys, minus George, walked Ginny and Professor Lockhart up to the Hospital Wing. It really was a pity that he had lost his memory. True, Lily didn't like him, but that didn't mean she wished him any harm.

"The feast tomorrow is sure to be brilliant," George said as he and Lily walked out by the courtyard. They were alone for the time being, with most everyone else up in the infirmary.

"Yes, I suppose it is."

George frowned. "Don't think that any of this makes me see you any differently. I know how bad Voldemort is, and I still stand by what I said before. Who he is, doesn't change who you are."

"George, please don't tell anyone who my father is, not even Fred, ok? I want to be the one to tell them, when I'm ready."

George smiled slightly. "Of course Lily. I promise."

"Look," he said, turning to face her. "There's something I need to tell you. I – "

"George!" Fred came bounding over to the two of them. George turned towards his brother, so Lily missed his facial expression.

"Mum wants you inside. She wants the whole family to spend time together, since Ginny's safe and everything."

"Fred, I'm kind of busy at the moment."

"No. Go on ahead," Lily urged. "Your family needs you."

George flashed an apologetic look at Lily as he was dragged away from her. She watched him as he got further and further away. When he was out of sight, she walked over to the empty benches, sat down, and cried.

The end of the year feast was the best one Lily had ever experienced. Everyone was wearing their pajamas and the celebrations lasted well into the night. Those who had been petrified by the now slain monster joined in after Madam Pomfery administered the revival potion to them.

Gryffindor won the House Cup again, mainly due to Harry and Ron's combined 400 points they received for rescuing Ginny. Exams had been canceled for the year, and the news that Lockhart would not be returning the following year was announced.

Despite all of the celebratory events that had occurred, Lily found it very difficult to remain happy. She stayed in a depressed state all the way through the end of term. Fred tried his best to cheer her up, but George, for some reason, left her as alone as possible.

She found his distance quite hurtful. She had come to realize that George meant something very special to her. Her heart glowed when she saw him the first time in the morning, and whenever he smiled in her direction, she would get butterflies in her stomach.

The only thing that kept a smile on her face was the memory of them, in the astronomy tower. She enjoyed the closeness they had shared then, and wanted it even more so than she had before. But, for whatever reason, he had started to pull away from her.

The ride back to Kings Cross was a quiet one. Lily sat and stared out the window the entire ride. After two hours of trying to cheer her up, Fred learned that the task would not be possible. He ended up leaving the compartment entirely, to go in search for his other friends.

Once he had left, George looked up at her for the first time.

"What?" she asked, somewhat sharply.

He forced a smile. "Would it be bad to say that I am scared for you?"

Lily's heart leapt, but she remained calm. "No. That's what friends do, right? Worry about each other."

George smiled for real this time. He stood up and went to go sit next to her.

"Promise me I won't lose you this summer. Please. I'm terrified I will."

Lily leaned her head on his shoulder. "I promise, George. Despite who I am, I swear I will never pull something like that again."

Her answer seemed to satisfy him. They spent the rest of the train ride talking and enjoying each other's company. All too soon it was over.

"I'll visit you this summer! And you'd better write to me!" George shouted as she walked over to her uncle.

Lily smiled a genuine smile. "I'll look forward to seeing you! And I will write! Every week!"

When she turned away from him, her smile faded. This year had changed her. She was no longer the carefree little girl she used to be. She felt older, and more tired than ever before. She wondered how long it would take her to start feeling normal again. Would she ever get over the fact that Lord Voldemort was her father? Or would it haunt her for the rest of her life? She had no idea.


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm back!!! So...I didn't get everything done I wanted to this weekend, but that's what happens on band trips. Here's chapter one of the third book. Kinda boring, I know, sorry. Hopefully the next chapter will be a good one.**

**btw...if there are any o's missing in this chapter, I apologize. My computer, for some odd reason, doesnt want to type them in. I think I got them all, but I'm not positive.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Let me know what you think.  
**

Book Three!!!

Chapter 1

_Dear Lily,_

_I hope that your summer has been enjoyable so far. I know it's only been a week, but Fred and I already miss you like crazy. We had a brilliant idea that we really want to share with you when we see you again._

_Speaking of which, when are you coming to visit? It'd better be sometime soon. Write back quickly. I want to hear from you._

_George._

Lily sighed and placed the letter back on her desk. She had received it a week earlier, but hadn't had the heart to write back.

Ever since she had discovered her father was Lord Voldemort, Lily hadn't been herself. She ate very little and spoke even less. She had to put a silencing charm on her bedroom door so her aunt and uncle wouldn't hear her screams.

Her dreams were filled with images of a girl, quite like herself. She looked to be a few years older with the same silky black hair. Her skin was deathly pale and her eyes, her eyes were like those of a snake.

The girl never said anything to her, but Lily was terrified, nonetheless. Her eyes were filled with contempt and she always seemed to have a twisted sort of smile on her face, making her even more frightening.

Lily was sitting on her couch, rereading the first paragraph of her book for the third time when the doorbell rang.

Her Aunt Jessica answered the door.

From the angle she was sitting at, Lily couldn't see the face of their visitor. She watched as Jessica smiled and let the visitor in.

It was George.

His eyes met hers as soon as he stepped into the room. His face paled as he took in the sight before him.

"Lily, George is here to see you," Jessica said.

"Actually," George said, "I was wondering if Mr. Rain was here. There was something I wanted to ask him."

Jessica smiled. Lily groaned inwardly. She knew exactly what her aunt was thinking.

"If you want, you may ask me your question."

Jessica had never liked Lily. She and Charles had gotten married a year before Lily had been born. Charles had discovered that he was unable to have children just a week before Lily's mother had died. She had always hated the fact that she would never be able to have children of her own and envied the attention Charles would give Lily.

"Is it alright with you if Lily comes and spends the rest of the summer with my family? I know that's a lot of time for her to be away, but my younger sister, Ginny, well, after everything that happened last year, she's having a really hard time, and Lily was the first one my twin and I thought of that could help – "

"George," Jessica said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "It is perfectly fine with me that Lily spends the summer with you and your family. I completely understand and I think it might even help her too.

"Lily," she said, turning to her niece, "go and show George your room. He can help you pack up."

Lily closed her book and walked slowly up the stairs. George followed her. He reached out his arms and steadied her when she stumbled.

"Why didn't I hear back from you?" he asked when he saw the letter he had written sitting on her desk. Scraps of paper littered the floor. They were all parts of a letter Lily had tried to write in return.

"I couldn't think of anything to say." She murmured.

George reached out his hand and grabbed a hold of Lily's, but she pulled away.

"Lily," George said softly, "Lily please. Please don't shut me out now. "

"I thought knowing would be better. I wanted to know who he was so I could possibly find him, and maybe even talk to him. But I was wrong. My father is a monster. And I'm ashamed to be related to him. I shouldn't be alive."

George sighed as he pulled her trunk out from underneath her bed.

"Everything is already packed. I did it the day I got home. I just have to gather up my schoolbooks."

She walked over to a stack of books on her dresser, but George beat her to it.

Once all of her things were packed in her trunk, George lifters it up and walked down the stairs. Lily called to Kiki and the gray tabby cat leapt from the dressed onto Lily's shoulder. Lily scratched her behind the ears and Kiki rubbed up against her cheek.

"Have a wonderful time," Jessica said as she gave Lily a hug goodbye. She waved at the two of them until they were out of her line of sight, then she retreated back into the house. George led her through the park a couple of blocks from her house. Two broomsticks awaited them amongst the thick grove of trees.

"Won't the muggles see us?" she asked George as he strapped her suitcase onto his broomstick.

George shook his head. "Nah, there's enough cloud coverage here that we'll be high enough in the air before they can process anything. And there's no one out here today, it's supposed to rain later this afternoon."

He and Lily mounted their brooms. On his mark, they both kicked off really hard from the ground and soared directly up, into the clouds. Once George was absolutely sure they couldn't be seen, he leveled out and headed in the direction of the Weasley's house.

Despite her growing anxiety about staying with George's family again, Lily could feel the excitement in her heart as she drew nearer and nearer to what had become home to her.


	18. Chapter 18

**Finally! Lily's mopey attitude was really getting on my nerves. Hopefully her summer will start to be a lot more fun. :) Hope you guys like this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
**

Chapter 2

"Lily, Lily, time to wake up." A soft hand was resting on Lily's shoulder, gently shaking her awake. She groaned and tried to get up. She only managed to sit up a few more inches before she collapsed from exhaustion.

"I brought you some eggs and toast. Here." Lily took the food from Ginny's hands. She started to eat the food slowly. With Ginny sitting there, Lily had no choice but to eat the entire plate.

"Do you want me to get you some more?" She asked happily. "I don't mind."

Lily smiled and swung her legs out from under the covers. "No thank you Ginny. I appreciate the offer, but I really am not very hungry."

"Ok Lily. There's more food downstairs if you want more. Ginny waved goodbye as she left the room. Lily struggled to her feet and walked over to the dresser that she and Ginny shared. She pulled out a pair of shorts and a green t-shirt that was too big for her and put them on.

At the top of the stairs Lily could hear voices. Voices that weren't normally a part of the mayhem that ensued at the Weasley's house.

It turned out that Fred had invited Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet over. Both girls would be entering their fifth year at Hogwarts in the coming fall. The four friends were sitting around the coffee table, playing a tag team game of Wizards Chess, when Lily entered the room.

All four of them looked up. Fred, George, and Angelina were smiling, but Alicia looked a bit perturbed.

"What is _she_ doing here?" she asked, a bit accusingly.

"Lily's spending the summer with us," Fred said happily, oblivious to the negative tone in Alicia's voice.

"Here, we can make some more room for you on the couch," George said as he scooted over. Lily noted that Alicia moved over, closer to him, to prevent Lily from being in the middle.

"That's alright George, I really should get working on my potions essay." Lily grabbed her notebook off the floor where it had been moved to and took a seat at the kitchen counter. Every once in a while she would look over at the four of them. Angelina and Fred seemed to be getting along really well. They worked well as a team and really were enjoying the game. George and Alicia weren't doing as well. Alicia was too preoccupied with maintaining George's attention to pay much attention to the game, causing the two of them to lose quite a few of their pieces.

"Well, now that that's done and over with," Fred said as he took his brother's king, "Who's up for a game of Quidditch?"

"Sure," Angelina said as she headed for the door. "Do you want to play too, Lily?"

Lily shook her head. "I'm really close to finishing this."

Angelina smiled in understanding. "Well, if you finish before we get back, you should come out and play."

Lily watched as the four of them exited the house, heading for the field in the back of the yard.

She was just finishing up her essay an hour later when they came back in, hot and sweaty, but with smiles on their faces. The first thing she noticed was George's arm wrapped around Alicia's shoulders and hers around his waist. Lily's blood began to boil as she looked at the happiness in George's eyes. The two were laughing about something that had happened during the game.

"Seriously," George was saying, "That was an awesome shot. I didn't think would make it, but you sure proved me wrong. Just like you said, you're a pro."

Alicia laughed. "I especially liked the part where it hit Fred in the face. His expression was priceless."

Fred scowled as Alicia mimicked his face. Angelina smiled and patted Fred on the head.

"There, there. It's alright Freddie-poo. You'll be alright."

He stuck his tongue out at her and she giggled.

"Who's ready for some lunch?" George asked as he broke out a bag of chips and the sandwich supplies.

"We are!" Fred and the girls chorused. They took their food over to the coffee table and started chattering about the game. None of them paid any attention to Lily. They acted like she wasn't even there.

Lily grabbed two slices of bread and some cheese from the refrigerator and headed back upstairs. She didn't want to be around George anymore. The jealousy was eating her alive.

Angelina and Alicia stayed all day. They spent the entire time with Fred and George, so Lily was left alone. She spent most of the day watching the group from the window in Ginny's room. Her dislike for Alicia grew every time she saw her smiling at George or touching George or talking to George. Even though they hadn't been getting along very well that morning, by the time the girls left that night, they were getting along very well. So well, that Alicia gave George a kiss on the cheek as she said her goodbyes.

Lily stayed in the bedroom, away from George, for the rest of the night. She only came out when she absolutely had to use the restroom.

The upstairs bathroom in the Weasley's house was located up the windy stairs, just above Fred and George's room. She walked past it quietly, hoping that they were both still downstairs with the rest of the family.

As she passed by the room, she paused. A muffled sound was coming from inside. Lily slowly opened the door and saw George sitting on his bed. He was crying and in his hand was the picture she had given him for Christmas her first year.

The room was dark. George's wand was sitting in the middle of the floor, giving off a faint white light. Lily shut the door behind her and walked over to him.

"What is it?" she asked, placing her hand on his knee. He looked up at her, and the tears fell harder.

"Look at this picture," he said, handing her the photograph. "What do you see?"

"I see happier times. I see me surrounded by two of my best friends, having a good time." Lily started to cry. "I miss this."

George reached around her and hugged her. He then proceeded to stand her up and walk her over to the corner of the room. Something was standing up in the corner, covered by a blanket.

In one fluid motion, George ripped off the blanket and Lily was standing face to face with herself. Her reflection scared her. With the wand on the floor illuminating the room, she looked like the angel of death.

"Oh my god," she gasped as she took in the sallow skin and bony body she had become. It was heartbreaking.

"This has to stop. Now. I can't go on watching you waste away like this. Your father was Voldemort. So what? Channel your emotions into a different outlet. Instead of starving yourself out of self hatred, take up your wand and fight against him and his followers. Become an Auror to put a stop to people like him, or discover new potions to heal the people he has caused harm to. Do something to better this world. Take your hatred for him and direct it into something positive, instead of directing it at yourself."

Lily turned around and buried her head in his chest. "George," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry. I've been acting so foolishly. You're right. Absolutely right. I'm done being upset about this. I'll figure out what I want to do with my life, and I promise, it will be great."

George smiled. "That's my girl." Lily's heart swelled. She smiled back. Something stirred in George's blue eyes. He brushed a strand of her hair away from her face. Her heart raced as he leaned in closer to her. His lips were inches from hers when a loud banging sound came from the door, causing them to jump apart.

"George!" Ginny called. "Mum wants you to and Fred to clean up the Wizard's Chess game. Now!"

"Every time." George growled to himself as he slowly removed his arms from Lily's back.

"Hey George," Lily said.

He turned to face her. "Yes?" he asked anxiously.

"Do you guys have any popcorn by any chance? I'm in the mood for a big bowl of popcorn and a family game of charades."

Lily had never seen George look so happy.


	19. Chapter 19

**I figured I'd put this up since it's done and I'm about to head to bed. AP test is coming up on Wednesday so I'll be pretty busy studying. I'll try to update as soon as I possibly can. Until then, Enjoy!!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
**

Chapter 3

The horrible news that Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban reached the Weasley household in late July. Mr. Weasley came home with a grave expression on his face and promptly dropped the Daily Prophet on the table. There was a moment of chaos as Fred, George, and Percy scrambled to get the paper first. In the end, Percy was the one who read the article aloud.

"I wonder how he managed to slip past the guards," Fred commented once Percy was done.

"How come Azkaban is so hard to escape from anyway?" Ron asked, his mouth full of potatoes.

"It's guarded by dementors, Ron." Lily piped in. "they feed off of human happiness. That's why when you're near them you become so afraid. They suck the happiness right out of you. It would be nearly impossible to get past them, and if he did, he still would have had to have somehow made it to the shore. It's quite a long swim."

"Have you _been_ to Azkaban before?" Fred asked incredulously.

Lily nodded. Mrs. Weasley gasped. "What on earth would a child like you be doing in a place like that?"

"Uncle Charles took me to work to bring your kid to work day. He was called for an emergency visit to talk to one of his clients, and there was no one there in the office. They had all taken their kids out to ice cream. He had no choice to but to take me with him."

"What were the dementors like?" George asked.

"George!"

"It's alright Mrs. Weasley. They were really tall and had long black cloaks. And they sort of glided about. I was seven at the time and they were pretty scary to me. But I don't remember feeling abnormally scared at all."

Mr. Weasley looked puzzled. "Maybe it was because you were so young. Thankfully, I've never encountered a dementor, but I know people that have, and it was not a fun experience for them."

The following weeks were spent discussing Black's escape. Fred and George had come up with some ridiculous theories about how he had achieved it. Some of the ideas included magic she had no idea even existed. Fred and George sure knew spells to get out of sticky situations.

The atmosphere in the house changed from puzzlement and anxiety to worry when they received word about the incident that had occurred at the Dursleys. Lily was appalled that Harry had gotten off so lightly. Apparently with Sirius Black on the loose, Fudge didn't want Harry expelled from Hogwarts.

Ron wanted to go to Diagon Alley immediately once he learned Harry's whereabouts, but unfortunately, Mrs. Weasley was too busy around the house to make the trip into London until the day before the holidays ended.

As soon as he met up with Hermione, Ron was gone. Lily spent the day with Fred and George, with Kiki close behind. They got their school books for the year and spent the rest of the time at the ice cream parlor. Most of the Hogwarts students had already gotten their supplies, so the trio didn't run into any of their friends until the next day.

Lily, Fred, and George had been seated in their compartment all of five minutes before Alicia found them.

"George," she squealed as she grabbed him by the arm. "Come on. Katie and Angelina are further down the train. They're about to start a game of exploding Snap. You have to come watch." George barely had time to process what was happening before Alicia dragged him out of the compartment. Lily and Fred stared openmouthed.

"Will you excuse me?" Fred asked after a moment of stunned silence. "I have to go speak with my twin for a moment." Fred quickly got up from his seat and slipped out the door. A moment later he stuck his head back in.

"Don't listen to this," he added as he disappeared again. Lily sat in silence, staring out the window for a good fifteen minutes before Fred returned. George walked in behind him, looking embarrassed.

"Nice of you to join us," Lily said somewhat sourly. She couldn't help but feel jealous of Alicia. The fifteen-year-old seemed to know what she was doing when it came to boys. Lily, on the other hand, had no idea.

"Sorry," George murmured as he sat down. "She kind of dragged me out."

"So I saw."

Lily pulled out her book on potions and continued off where she had left off. She promptly ignored all of George's attempts to make conversation, still upset that he hadn't put up a fight against Alicia.

Lily gave a startled jump as the train slowed to a stop. They were nowhere near Hogwarts. Kiki, who had been sleeping comfortably on the seat next to Fred, leapt up and turned to face the door, her back arched in surprise and fear.

"What's going on?" Fred asked.

The lights flickered and went out. Lily could feel the air temperature in the compartment drop by the second. Her breath gave a puff of steam as she released it. She knew what this was. Dementors were boarding the train.

"It's so cold," George shivered as he rubbed his hands along his arms. Lily had started shivering and, forgetting all about her frustration with George, leaned herself up against him. He wrapped his arm protectively around her and the three waited for the creatures to arrive.

Fred saw it first. He shivered and scooted away from the door as it was slid slowly open. Kiki hissed and jumped back away from it. Both Fred and George had gone completely white. Lily stared at the creature as a wave of fear washed over her. She felt compelled to run, but knew she had nowhere to go. She watched as it swung its hooded head around the room, no doubt searching for Sirius Black.

The dementor didn't stay long. Once convinced the escapee was not hiding in their compartment, the creature turned and continued down the hallway.

George pulled Lily closer and buried his face in her hair. She was now sitting on top of his lap, although she didn't remember getting on top of it. She pulled out a chocolate bar from her purse and handed each of the twins a piece.

"That was the scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life," George whispered in her ear, so Fred couldn't hear, "I kept seeing you jumping off the astronomy tower, or starving yourself. It was horrible."

Lily placed her hand on his face and looked him in the eyes. He looked as if he were about to cry. "I'm right here," she whispered back. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

"What do you think it wanted?" Fred asked, shaking.

"I'd bet my entire life savings that it had something to do with Sirius Black," Lily said quietly.

"Hey, how come you don't look scared to death?" Fred asked as he took a bite of chocolate from the piece Lily had given him.

"I don't know Fred. For some reason, the dementor didn't affect me like it affected you."

"You mean, you didn't see anything? You didn't see any horrible memories?" George asked.

Lily shook her head. "No, nothing."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 3 up. I wont be able to update tomorrow cuz I won't have any time. AP test time!!!! Hope you all like this chapter. Let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
**

Chapter 3

Defense Against the Dark Arts was hands down, Lily's favorite subject starting her third year. Professor Lupin certainly knew how to engage the class and get them excited about learning new things. For his first lesson, he took the class to the staffroom.

Professor Snape was seated in one of the armchairs. He looked up and sneered at the group as they walked through the door.

"Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this."

Professor Snape, a normally bitter person, had been acting even more resentful towards people since the start of the term. Lily hadn't been able to figure out why he was acting that way, but she sensed it had something to do with Professor Lupin. Snape even went as far as to make fun of Neville as he exited the room.

Professor Lupin called Neville over to him once Snape had left. Neville walked over timidly, unsure about what the Professor wanted him to do.

The class walked in closer to Lupin as he explained that inside the wardrobe in the center of the room was a boggart. A boggart had the ability to transform itself into whatever the person before it feared the most. Lupin took out his wand and demonstrated the 'riddikulus' spell that would ward off the creatures.

Lupin used Neville to give an example of how the spell would work. He then told them t take ten minutes and think of something they were afraid of, and how to make it amusing.

The first thing that popped into Lily's mind was the strange girl from her dreams. How to make that amusing?

"Everyone ready?" Lupin asked. The rest of the class nodded. Once everyone had congregated behind Neville, Lupin opened the handle and flung the door open.

Professor Snape emerged from the wardrobe. He had an evil smirk on his face and was glaring straight at Neville. With a quavering arm, he raised his wand and shouted as courageously as he could.

"R-Riddikulus!"

Snape's black robe instantly changed into the clothes of Neville's grandmother. The class erupted into laughter and the boggart turned its attention to the next person. Lily watched as it turned into a mummy who came unraveled, a mute banshee, a rat chasing its tail, a rattlesnake, and many other thing's.

Lily's fear began to mount as Ron severed the legs off the six foot spider in front of him. The boggart turned to her.

Seeing the girl in person, even though she wasn't real, caused Lily's blood to go cold. Everyone in the room grew silent, as if they could feel the sheer power radiating from the girl. She smirked and took a step towards Lily, her snake-like eyes never left Lily's face.

_There's no reason to be afraid, Lily,_ the girl spoke for the first time. Lily recognized the feeling of the voice in her mind. No one else could hear what she was saying.

_I'm here to help you. To show you the greatness that is inside of you. _Lily's heart started to race faster as the girl got closer and closer to her.

As soon as their skin touched, Lily's surroundings completely changed. She found herself in the middle of the city of London.

A small child on a broomstick whizzed by her. Another broom closely followed it. The two children raced down the streets, above the cars that were on their way home from work. Lily was astounded. How were they able to do that, in the middle of a city filled with muggles?

_You could change things. You could make it so that wizards and muggles grow up together, learn together. We wouldn't have to hide our world anymore. Their world and ours could become one. Can you imagine the beauty of a place like that?_

Lily had to agree, it sounded like a wonderful idea. When she turned around to tell the girl, she met her gaze and froze. There was something very dangerous about this girl. Lily could feel it. She wrenched her arm away and all of a sudden she was thrown back into the staffroom at Hogwarts.

"Riddikulus!" she gasped. The girl remained the same for a split second before exploding into a hundred different butterflies. The girls in the room gasped and broke out into applause as they flew gracefully around the room and congregated in front of Harry.

Before the boggart could reform itself, Professor Lupin moved in front of Harry. In a flash there was a full moon hanging in the sky. Before Lily had time to blink, Lupin had turned it into a balloon that flew around the room and ended back up in the wardrobe.

"Excellent job everyone. Five points to everyone who tackled the boggart and five for Harry and Hermione for answering my questions at the beginning of class. You are all dismissed."

Lily walked by herself out of the classroom, listening to the different conversations. It seemed that everyone in the class, minus Draco and his gang, had loved the lesson. Lily was still shaken up from her experience with the boggart. She knew now that she wasn't the only one who felt the girl was dangerous. Her classmates had sensed something was wrong as well.

Somehow, the experience managed to evade her mind for the rest of the school day. It was Thursday, which meant that she had her first extra potions lesson with Professor Snape that night. She walked in the classroom door promptly at eight o'clock and sat down at her normal desk. Snape was standing at the storage cupboard, refilling the potions supplies.

"You won't need your notebook tonight. I wish to work with you on something new."

Lily was puzzled. Snape had never hinted about changing up the material. What was it that he had planned for her?

"Take out your wand and come up here," he ordered as he pulled out his wand and turned to face her.

"Sir," Lily asked hesitantly, "what exactly does this have to do with potions."

Snape smirked. It was as close to an actual smile as she had ever seen. "Nothing Miss Rain. I intend to test your mental abilities tonight."

Lily's excitement began to grow. She had never been able to fully test her abilities before and she thrived off the challenge.

"Now, I want you to tell me something about myself. Something that no one else would know. I will try t block you out. You may begin."

Lily closed her eyes and felt out for Snape's mind. For the first time she felt the presence of a veil around it, but she slipped easily enough in.

"You hate Remus Lupin – "

"Any half-wit could have told me that," Snape barked.

Lily took a deep breath and tried again. "You hate him because he was part of a group of students that would bully you while you were a student here."

"What were their names?" Snape drilled.

"Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, and Sirius Black. Hey, he was the guy that broke out of Azkaban."

Snape's eyebrows rose. "Impressive. Continue on. I want to see how far you can go."

"Are you sure about this Professor?"

He nodded brusquely and Lily delved in deeper.

The first thing she noticed were the memories that Snape wanted to keep hidden. She didn't want to intrude, so she spoke up once more.

"All of the memories you want to keep hidden are of the red head I saw in my first year. I don't want to intrude."

"You may stop then. Now, it is my turn. Try and prevent me from reading any of your thoughts."

Lily waited, her eyes glued on Snape. His eyes stared into her. Lily watched as they became progressively more and more frustrated.

"Nothing! I can't see anything!" he shouted at last.

"I'm not doing anything, sir. I swear I'm not."

Snape nodded. "Very well. It looks like you have a very special gift Miss Rain."

Snape continued t test her on finding out different information about himself as he tried, in vain, to block her mind. For some reason, he couldn't feel her mind entering his and couldn't keep track of what it was looking at as it was there. He tried several times to get through her barrier, but in the end, he had to give up.

Panting, he sat down in his chair and rubbed his temples. All of the mental exercises had left him mentally exhausted.

"You may leave now. I will see you again on Tuesday. I wish to test you again in different applications then, so come prepared."

"Goodnight sir." Lily said as she walked out the door.

"Goodnight Miss Rain," he responded.

"This is going to be a good year," she whispered to herself as she walked down the hall to her dormitory. A great DADA professor and extra lessons on how to hone her gift. Could it get any better?


	21. Chapter 21

**THANK GOODNESS!!!! AP testing is DONE for me!! Now I can redirect my focus to writing again. Hope you all like this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
**

Chapter 4

The leaves slowly began to change from green to gold as the days went on. The end of October approached and the energy level in the school skyrocketed. The first Hogsmade trip of the term was scheduled for Halloween, and more than half the school had planned to go.

The week prior to the trip, Lily was sitting in the library, finishing up her transfiguration essay on Animagi.

"Hey there darling. What are you working on?" Lee asked as he took the seat next to her.

"I'm just now finishing up my essay for transfiguration."

Lee smiled and slung his arm around her shoulder. "So you're going with me to Hogsmade this weekend, right?"

Lily looked at him in surprise. The two of them had never really talked much before so she couldn't see what he was expecting from her.

"Um…well, you see…I was…well, I was hoping – "

"Excellent!" Lee cut in before she could finish her thought. "We'll meet in the courtyard at 8:30. The carriages leave at 9."

Without even stopping to hear her reply, he stood up and walked out of the library.

"…to go with George…" she finished, although there was no one to hear her.

Lily stared out the door after him for what seemed like hours. Her heart sank as she thought of George. He was sure to be upset at her for going with Lee instead of him. What would she say to him?

Apparently, he didn't care too much, because Saturday morning, when Lily arrived in the courtyard, she found Alicia standing next to him, hanging on his arm.

Lee smiled at her as she walked over to stand beside him. He put his arm around her shoulders and she looked down at the floor, unsure of what to do.

"So, I heard that they recently opened up a dance room in the three broomsticks. You wanna go check it out?"

Lily shrugged. "Sure." She glanced over at George, but he was too busy chatting with Alicia to bother with her.

Once Professor McGonagall had collected all of the third year's permission forms, they boarded the carriages. Lily remained silent for the ride into town, and Lee was too busy talking about the different shops to take any notice.

It was around 9:15 when they arrived. They had to be back up at the castle by 7 for the feast n but weren't required to ride the carriages back at three. The walk up to the castle took approximately half an hour, so they should set their plan to leave accordingly.

Lily and Lee headed off to Honeydukes first and then went to Zonko's. Lily enjoyed looking around the different shops, but she didn't buy anything. Lee, on the other hand, spent almost all of his money on a giant bag of candy and joke products.

"It looks like I'm paying for our lunch," Lily laughed as she and Lee headed up to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. All thoughts of George had left her mind, and she was enjoying herself until she spotted George and Alicia sitting at a nearby table, holding hands. Lily quickly looked away.

Lee must have seen them as well, because he led her to a table on the opposite side of the room. A waiter soon came and took their order. Lily found herself staring off into the distance, in the direction of George, a lot.

"Lily," Lee said, drawing her attention away from George, "You don't have to worry about lunch. I saved enough money to pay for both of us."

"Thank you Lee, but I feel bad having you pay for my lunch. This isn't a date or anything, so you shouldn't feel like you have to."

Lee smiled. "It could be, if you wanted it to be. I wouldn't mind at all."

Lily didn't know what to say. True, she had been having a lot of fun, but she knew that she didn't like Lee as anything more than a friend. She liked George. Unfortunately for her, he was off with Alicia at the moment.

"Lee, the thing is, I don't – " she was cut off yet again when he jumped up out of his seat.

"I totally forgot about the dance floor. Let's go try it out." Lee grabbed her hand and before she could protest any further, he dragged her into the back of the building.

There was a small room in the back that was dark except for a large silver ball hanging from the ceiling. The ball was glowing and causing thousands of small white circles of light to appear on the walls. The ball was rotating, which caused the light circles to dance around.

"This is amazing!" Lily exclaimed as Lee led her to the center of the room. A fast song started up and they began to dance.

"You having fun?" Lee asked over the pounding music.

Lily smiled. "You bet I am!" Lee took her hand and pulled her into a spin just as the song changed over. The next song that started up was a jazzy tune that Lily recognized.

"Oh! This is the song I played whenever I did the jitterbug for dance lessons. I love this song."

"You know how to do the jitterbug?" Lee asked incredulously.

Lily nodded. "Do you?"

In response he started moving back and forth in time to the music. Lily followed his lead and soon they were spinning around the room. The rest of the dancers had cleared the floor and were watching the two of them with interest. From what Lily could see, there were quite a few Hogwarts students in the crowd, but she couldn't recognize any of them because she was moving so quickly.

Soon the crowd that had gathered around them started clapping along with the beat. Lily smiled and spun into Lee's arms as the song ended. The crowd erupted into cheers as the song changed into a slower one and Lee led her off the dance floor.

He pulled her to the side of the room and placed his hand on her waist. She looked up and smiled shyly. Her arms found their way to the base of his neck. Lee smiled back as they rocked back and forth.

"You're a really great dancer," he said.

"You're not so bad yourself," Lily responded.

Lee gazed at her eyes for a moment and without any warning, leaned in and planted a kiss right on her lips.


	22. Chapter 22

**:D so...I really liked this chapter. It was fun to write. Let me know what you think about it :) Thanks for all the reviews so far! I really enjoy reading them!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
**

Chapter 5

Lily had never been kissed before, nor had she any desire to be kissed. Not by anyone other than George anyway.

When Lee kissed her, she froze and her eyes flew open. She tried to pull away from him, but his arms were wrapped firmly around her waist. She couldn't move.

Lily pushed hard against his chest, and eventually he got the message.

Wiping his spit from her lips, Lily glared at him.

"How. Dare. You." She snarled, fire in her eyes.

"What?" Lee asked, amusement in his voice. "It was just a kiss."

"Just a kiss? Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't like you like that?"

"Sheesh, Lily, calm down. It's no big deal. You don't have to get all upset about it. If you don't want to be my girlfriend that's cool. We can just be friends then."

Lily was furious now, but she refrained from saying anything that would further draw attention to the two of them. They had already attracted a few stares, and Lily didn't want any more eyes on her.

"Outside. Now!" She hissed and pointed to the door behind him. Lee rolled his eyes, but followed her order.

"Why is this such a big deal to you?" Lee asked, frustration leaking into his voice.

"Because, Lee, it may have escaped your notice, but I am only thirteen. That back there, was my first kiss, and let me tell you, it wasn't as special as I would have liked it to be."

Lee crossed his arms and stared at her. "I don't get it. You seemed to be really into me earlier today. What happened?"

Lily sighed in frustration. "I was trying to get my mind off of George and for a while it worked. I wanted to spend this trip with him, but thanks to _you_ I couldn't. I like George. A lot! And I thought he liked me too, which is why I don't get why you asked me in the first place."

"I like what I see. You're cute and fun to hang around with. Why wouldn't I ask you?"

Lily was really starting to get annoyed. "Maybe because your best friend likes me too, or at least he did. I don't know if he'll ever talk to me again." that very thought made Lily want to cry. Surely George wasn't mad at her for everything that had happened that day. All she had to do was explain it to him and they would still be friends, wouldn't they?

"Whatever, Lily. I'll catch you around sometime, when you've stopped being such a drama queen." Lily watched, blinking back tears of anger, as Lee turned and walked back inside.

She held in her frustration and started to run. She didn't quite have a plan of where she was going, but her feet carried her on anyways. They led her through the vacant streets and up the hill towards the shrieking shack. Hot tears fell down her face as she held on to her anger until she was sure that she was alone.

When she reached the fence marking off the forbidden territory, she let out a furious scream. All of her anger and embarrassment and frustration and disappointment flew out of her mouth and into the cool autumn air.

A stick snapped on her right and Lily whirled around. Standing before her was George. He too had tears running down his face.

"Why are you so upset?" He snarled at her. "Your precious boyfriend break up with you already?"

Lily inhaled sharply as she felt her heart start to break. "George, I swear, nothing is going on between –"

"SAVE IT!" He hollered. "I don't want to hear it Lily! I saw the two of you, with my own eyes! So don't you dare tell me nothing is going on!"

"George, please, let me explain!" Lily cried in desperation.

"No. _Nothing_ you might say could fix what you've done to me."

Lily glared at him. "What _I've _done to _you_? Don't you even care about what happened to me?" George was being completely unreasonable. He had no reason whatsoever to act like he was. Hadn't it been his own choice to spend the day with Alicia? Hadn't they been holding hands earlier? He had no right to be upset with her.

"No! I don't give a damn what happens to you! I cared about you, so much, and look where it got me! I am DONE caring about you!"

Lily watched helplessly as he strode past her, bumping into her shoulder along the way. Her eyes followed him as she stood unable to stop him from leaving. She wanted to go after him, make him understand that he was mistaken, that it was him that she had feelings for, not Lee. But her feet remained rooted to the ground, her throat too dry to call out. Not that he would listen if she did.

She stayed there, unable to move, tears running down her cheeks, for what seemed like a lifetime. She kept pleading, to whom she didn't know, that this would all just be a dream and she would wake up soon. But every time she shut her eyes, she would still be standing there when they opened again.

Finally, Lily gathered her composure again and walked back down to the village. She walked past all of the Hogwarts students and kept her head down in order to avoid eye contact with any of them.

She reached the group of carriages and stopped, looking at the thestral. She cautiously approached it, admiring its uniqueness.

The thestral snorted and nuzzled her hand as she approached it. Lily stroked its muzzle and found, to her surprise, that it was soft, like a peach.

"What is it like?" she whispered, "with only people who have seen death being able to see you?"

The thestral snorted. Lily chuckled and began stroking its face. "I wish I understood your language."

"They probably wouldn't have that much to say if you did." Lily would recognize that voice anywhere.

"You never know, sir. No one really knows how they feel, or what they think." Lily turned and found herself face to face with Professor Snape.

"What are you doing back here so early?" he asked, changing the topic.

Lily sighed. She really didn't want to go into any detail with everything that had happened. Snape took a step forward and lifted her chin up so their eyes met.

"You've been crying," he noted. Lily nodded but said nothing. She knew that if she did, she would start crying again, and that was the last thing she wanted to do in front of the head of her house.

"Why?" he asked, almost tenderly. Almost. There was still a hint of the bitter person he was in his voice.

"I…I think I've made a really big mistake, and because of that I've lost my best friend forever."

Snape's eyes softened a bit. "Get in," he said pointing to the carriage. Lily, very confused about what was happening, climbed in. Snape climbed in behind her and shut the door.

"What I am about to say to you, you must never _ever_ repeat to anyone. Do you understand?" his voice was stern. Lily nodded.

"Yes, sir," she responded.

"When I was a student in Hogwarts, My best friend's name was Lily Evans. I loved her, more than I've ever loved anything in the entire world. One day, she came to my defense when I was…being bullied by some fellow students of mine." He spoke of the incident with disgust, his face scrunched up in hatred. "Needless to say, I was embarrassed that she had to see me in that condition, so I lashed out at her. I called her a Mudblood, as she was a muggleborn. I regretted it instantly, but when I went to apologize, she would have nothing to do with me. Because of that mistake, I lost my friendship with her, as well as any chance I had with her."

Lily sat in silence for a moment. She didn't know what to think.

"I don't want your pity," Snape said, his usual contempt back in his voice. "I am telling you this because you are my favorite student, by far. I see a lot of myself in you and I wouldn't wish the pain I endured on someone like you. You deserve better."

"So what do I do?" Lily asked, hopelessly.

"Give him some time to cool down. Whatever you did had to have upset him greatly if he's willing to throw away the friendship the both of you have. Then tell him how you feel about him. If there's one thing I wish I did, it would be to tell Lily that I loved her."

Lily nodded. "Thank you Professor, for sharing your story with me."

Snape stared her down. "You'd better be the only one who hears it."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "What kind of person do you take me for Professor?"

Snape looked away. "You never can be too sure when you're telling someone your darkest secret."

Lily's stomach turned inside out. She hadn't even thought about that. Would George tell anyone about her father, now that he was mad at her? She hoped that he wouldn't, but he had been really upset at her.

"I'm going to head back up to the castle." Lily said as she scooted towards the door. She climbed out of the carriage and walked over to the thestral to say her goodbyes.

"I wish you the best of luck," Snape said as she began her hike back up to the castle.

Lily didn't see George again for the rest of the day. the Halloween feast was scheduled for that night and she was hoping that he would have calmed down enough that she could explain to him what had happened. Lily glanced over at the Gryffindor table as she walked by. Lee looked up at her and rlled his eyes before pointedly turning away. Fred was sitting next to Hermione, arguing with her about something. Lily was too far away to hear what it was.

George wasn't there. Lily paused a few feet from the door and scanned the room, looking for him. He was nowhere in sight.

Taking a deep breath, Lily marched over to the Gryffindor table. Fred's expression soured a bit when he noticed her approaching him.

"Where is George?" Lily demanded, staring him straight in the eyes.

Fred frowned. "Probably back in the common room. He isn't feeling very well."

Lily's eyes narrowed. Obviously, George had told his brother what had happened.

"Before you start blaming me for everything that happened today, why don't you ask your _friend _over there to tell you what really happened," she growled, gesturing to Lee.

Before Fred had a chance to respond, Lily turned around and rushed from the room. Eating was not a major priority for her at the moment. She just wanted to find George and make things right with him again.

She made her way up the several flights of staircases it took to get the Gryffindor tower. She had ascended four flights of stairs when a strange sound made her stop. A flicker of movement caughe her eye and she whipped her head around to face the hallway on her left.

"Is anybody there?" she called as she walked closer. Lily almost jumped out of her skin when Kiki emerged from behind one of the suits of armor.

"Goodness, Kiki. You scared me!" Lily exclaimed as she bent down to scoop up the cat in her arms. Kiki was too fast for her; she darted through her outstretched arms and down the stairs.

Lily laughed and chased after the cat. It took her a long time to catch up to the rascal. She kept racing up and down the stairs. Whenever Kiki would start getting too far ahead of Lily, she would stop and wait until Lily caught up. Then she would dart down another hallway, and Lily would follow.

Finally, after an hour of running around, Lily caught the cat. Kiki mewed in protest, but didn't struggle as Lily lifted her off the ground.

"Stupid cat," Lily muttered as she looked around. Kiki had lead her all the way back to the basement. By now the feast would have ended. There was no point for her to go back up to the Gryffindor common room. George wouldn't be alone anymore, and she didn't feel like making a big scene. She would find another time to talk to him.

With a heavy heart Lily walked slowly back to her dormitory. Alone apart from the grey ball of fluff in her arms.


	23. Chapter 23

**:) hope you are all enjoying the story. Let me know what you think about the chapter. Personally, I loved it, but that's just me.**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine**

Chapter 6

The only thing the school talked about for the next week and a half was Sirius Black's break in. He hadn't actually been able to get inside of the Gryffindor common room, but the fact that he had gotten inside the school was enough to worry a lot of the teachers.

The dementors that had taken up residence at the school were on edge. They went as far as to enter the school grounds during the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match. Lily had been watching from the Slytherin stands when Harry had fallen from his broom. Thanks to some quick thinking by Dumbledore, Harry hadn't been harmed at all.

Lily was on her way up to the hospital wing to visit him when she ran into Hermione.

"Hello there Lily." Hermione, so far, was the only one that still was acting friendly to her. She didn't know exactly what George and Lee had told everyone, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. She had tried on several occasions to talk to George, but he was doing a really good job avoiding her.

"Hi Hermione. Is Harry alright?"

Hermione nodded. "He just woke up in fact. The entire team, apart from Oliver, is in there."

Lily gave her friend a forced smile. Hermione frowned. "You know, I personally think that George is being really mean about this whole thing. You should try talking to him again. Make him listen to you."

"I doubt he would listen to me."

Hermione placed her hand on Lily's arm. "That's where you're wrong. George still cares about you, a lot. He's just afraid to show it. He doesn't want his heart to be broken again."

Lily nodded and both girls continued on their way. As soon as Lily walked into the room, seven pairs of eyes turned to look at her. All conversation stopped as she walked over to Harry's side.

George had gone rigid and had an expression on his face of immense pain. Fred was standing by his brother's side holding onto his arm. It looked as if he were actually preventing George's escape.

"You feeling alright Harry?" Lily asked softly. Harry smiled, very aware of the tension that had developed in the room.

"Yeah, I'm just bummed that we didn't win."

Lily smiled. "You'll get them next time. I've seen you play, and you are a brilliant seeker. It's only because of those dementors that Gryffindor lost. It has nothing to do with your abilities as a player."

Like she expected, Lily's words lifted Harry's spirits. A bright smile lit up his face and he sat up in bed a little straighter.

"Thanks Lily. How come you always know the right thing to say?"

Lily shrugged and glanced over her shoulder. The girls had left already and George had slipped away to the door. He gazed back at her with sorrow in his eyes before disappearing out the door.

"Go after him Lily," Fred said softly. She looked at him startled.

"Yeah, Lee told us all what happened last night," Ron piped up. "We all understand and we're not mad at you. But George wasn't there. He's…well he's downright depressed. We can barely get him out of his room most times."

"We're all rooting for you Lily," Harry put in, giving her a reassuring smile. "Go win him back."

Lily nodded her head. She raced out the door, telling herself that if this all worked out, she would have a lot of thank yous to say.

George was just reaching the end of the hall when Lily caught sight of him. He was moving quickly with his head down.

Lily bolted for him; she kept her eyes fixed on him until she had caught up with him.

"I need to talk to you," she said, not showing any sign that she was struggling to catch her breath.

"Go away Lily. I told you, I don't want to talk to you." George's voice was distant and Lily could tell that he was trying not to cry.

Lily grabbed a hold of his hand and pulled him into the nearest room. She took out her wand and locked the door behind her.

"No. You are going to listen to what I have to say."

George was angry. "I don't want to hear it. You hurt me, and I don't think I could handle any speech about how I'm just going to have to accept the relationship between you and Lee. Because there is no way I'll ever be able to do that."

"George, I told you before, nothing is going on between Lee – "

"That is a load of crap, Lily!" He shouted. "I can't believe that you would stand here and lie right to my face!"

"I'm not lying George!" Lily screamed. Why wouldn't he stop and just listen to what she had to say?

"I SAW YOU!!!!" His face was wet with tears and he was shaking, with anger or sorrow or both, Lily didn't know. "I saw you kiss him. The two of you were dancing, and I had just come in to see if you wanted to share a dance with me, and right there in front of me, the two of you kissed –" George broke off in a sob and covered his face with his hands.

"Damn it George, Lee kissed me! I didn't ask for it to happen! In fact, I wish it hadn't!"

"Why is that," George scoffed. "Was he that bad of a kisser?"

"You're not getting the point George. Regardless of his ability to kiss, there's only one person on this earth that I would want to kiss. And that person is you."

George folded his arms and stared at her. "You said yes to Lee when he asked you to Hogsmade. How do you expect me to believe what you're saying to me?"

"You went with Alicia," Lily shot back.

"Only because you were going with him! Excuse me for assuming that going with him meant you didn't want to go with me."

Lily couldn't believe him. It was like he was purposely tying to upset her. "He cornered me George! He didn't even let me answer him! I thought it wasn't that big of a deal. It wasn't a date or anything."

"It sure looked like one."

"Only because when I saw Alicia hanging all over you I felt the need to get my mind off of you. Lee was more than happy to assist me with that."

"So you go around snogging him? Sure, that seems more than reasonable."

Lily's fists clenched and she felt hot tears run down her cheeks.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she nearly screamed. "Why are you hurting me like this?"

"BECAUSE!!!!" He roared. "I want you to feel like I did when you broke my heart! I want you to feel the same pain I did, to know what it feels to have your heart ripped out and broken into a million pieces! I want to know that I can hurt you in the same way that you hurt me, because that's the only way I can know for sure that you feel the same way about me as I do about you."

He closed the distance between them in two swift steps. In an instant Lily felt his strong arms wrap around her back. She pressed her face into his chest and inhaled. Oh, how she had missed his smell.

"I want to be the one that holds you when you cry, the one that makes you smile every day. I want to be the one who you share your darkest secrets with. I want to be able to hold your hand, and kiss your head, and stroke your hair as you sleep. I want it more than anything."

"George," Lily sighed, her tears finally stopping. "You're the only one I want to be with. I can't imagine myself with anyone else." Lily said it with so much conviction that she could feel that George believed her with all his heart.

George pulled her in tighter to his body. Lily laid her head in his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. Slowly George pulled back and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I think we should head back downstairs. It's probably close to dinner time now."

In response, Lily's stomach gave a large growl. She looked down at it and laughed.

"I suppose you're right."

George took her hand and entwined their fingers as they headed down to the Great Hall together.


	24. Chapter 24

**Awwwww... so cute :) Lily and George are so much fun to write about. Review and let me know what you think so far :)seriously, reading them makes my day :)  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
**

Chapter 7

In what seemed like no time at all, the halls of the school transformed from its normal, boring grey, to a festive red and green, in preparation for Christmas.

Everywhere Lily went she saw some sign of the coming holiday, whether it was the 20 foot tall Christmas tree in the Great Hall, or the garland lining the walls in the hallway. Even the classrooms had been decorated with tinsel and tree lights.

The week before Christmas, Lily found herself apart from Fred and George more and more often.

"What are they up to?" Lily asked Harry one evening at dinner, which the twins had skipped for the second time that week.

Harry shook his head. "No idea. With them, it could be pretty much anything."

"Here they come now," Hermione noted, looking up from her charms homework.

Lily looked over at the door and saw both of the twins walking towards the group of them.

"Hey, sorry we're late," George said as he kissed Lily on the cheek and sat down next to her.

"Working on homework?" Lily asked.

Fred snorted. "You wish, Lily, you wish."

Lily laughed and helped herself to one of the brownies that had just appeared in front of her.

"Oh boy!" George exclaimed. "My favorite part!"

"You'll get sick if you eat too much of that," Hermione scolded, indicating the piled of chocolate pudding and brownies on the boys' plates.

"Gees Hermione," Ron said with a mouthful of chocolate, "You're starting to sound like Mum."

Hermione scowled and went back to her homework.

"So why were you guys late?" Lily asked, turning to the twins. They shot her a grin, but remained silent.

"What?" Lily tried again. "Am I not allowed to know?" Still no answer.

"You guys are no fun." Lily folded her arm across her chest and turned her backs to them. She smiled as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

"Come on Lily, don't be upset. It will be more fun if you just go with the flow." George's whisper tickled her ear and she giggled.

"Alright, but it better be good."

One of the best things about Christmas was there was hardly anybody in the school. The majority of the students went home for the holidays, but Lily, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys remained at Hogwarts. This meant they practically had the castle to themselves, plus a few random Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.

Professor Dumbledore had even permitted Lily to spend the holiday in the Gryffindor tower with Hermione since all of the Slytherins had returned home.

Lily was woken up early on the morning of Christmas eve by an impatient Hermione.

"Lily, wake up!" Lily groaned and rolled over.

"What time is it?"

"That doesn't matter. You need to get up out of bed now."

Lily sat up groggily and stumbled out of bed. Before she even had a chance to glance at the clock beside her bed, Hermione pushed her out the door and promptly locked it behind her.

"Oh, this is just great," Lily grumbled as she tried to force the door back open. "I'm locked out of my room at God knows how early on my birthday." She made her way downstairs to the common room. As she passed the window she groaned again. it was still pitch black outside. And what was worse was that her wand was still sitting inside the room on her dresser, so she couldn't get back in if she wanted to.

Lily stopped at the top of the stairs. George was waiting at the foot of them, in his pajamas, with a bouquet of flowers.

His hair was ruffled and he looked just as sleepy as she felt, but he had a bright smile on his face.

"Happy birthday Sweetheart!" His eyes were shining and he gave her a big hug when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"These are for you, and I have your gift here too. You can have it now, or wait until later to open it. Whichever you want is fine with me."

"George!" Lily exclaimed, a smile lighting up her face. "These are beautiful."

He handed her a large box wrapped in pink and yellow striped paper.

"I think I'll save this for later," Lily said as she sat it down next to one of the armchairs.

George took her hand and dragged her towards the portrait hole.

"George, where are you taking me?" He turned around and just smiled at her.

"Hey," Sir Caddogen (the Fat Lady's replacement) said, sleepily. "Don't you youngins know what time it is?"

Lily giggled as George responded. "It's her birthday."

"My goodness, Happy birthday the Miss. You two have fun now."

The hallways were deserted, as was to be expected in the middle of the night. They walked hand in hand down six flights of stairs. George led her into an empty classroom on the first floor. He released her hand and opened the window.

"Come over here," he whispered to her. Lily walked over, curious as to what he was up to.

Planted on the ground beneath the window was George's broomstick.

"You little sneak!" Lily laughed.

"The Weasley twins can always outsmart the teachers. It's one of our many gifts." George called to the broom and it rose up to the window. Once Lily was securely on, George climbed on behind her and they took off into the night sky.

Despite the cold in the air, Lily felt warm with George's arms around her. He let her steer the broomstick as he held her, both of them enjoying the view as they flew around the Great Lake.

"It's so pretty out here," Lily murmured. George pulled her closer to him and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Lily's heart soared. Her eyes widened as she changed directions.

"Oh George, look at that sunrise!"

It truly was an amazing sight to behold. The sun itself was still hidden behind the mountains to the east, but the clouds had changed from a dark blue to a radiant pink and purple.

They flew around for a while, just enjoying each other's company and the beauty around them. When they passed over the lake again, George leaned forward and spoke softly into her ear.

"I have more planned for you, we can stay up here for a while, or we can go back to school and eat breakfast. It's your special day."

Lily smiled. "You do know how much I love to eat."

George laughed. "I sure do."

Everyone else was up and gathered at the Gryffindor table by the time Lily and George sat down to join them. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Fred were smiling brightly as they sat down at the table.

"Was it great?" Ron blurted out. Hermione elbowed him in the side.

"Ron," she hissed. "Don't ask that!"

Lily laughed. "It was wonderful."

"Good, because things are just starting. Today is going to be the best day ever!" Fred jumped up and threw his fist into the air in excitement.

The table erupted into laughter that was quickly silenced by the food appearing on the table.

The rest of the day was filled with charades, a tournament of wizards chess, a game of Quidditch, and a wizards duel competition. There was never a dull moment. After dinner that night, the group started back up to the dormitory. Lily started to follow them up the stairs, but George grabbed her wrist.

When she turned to face him, he smiled softly. "Come with me," he murmured. "There's something I want to show you."

He led her back into the room where he had stored the broomstick. In a matter of minutes they were in the air. Lily steered the broom in the direction that George told her. They soared over the star filled lake and landed along the shore in a clearing.

Lily gasped when she saw the scene in front of her. George had set up a hammock in the middle of the clearing, a few feet by the lakeshore.

"George, I don't know what to say."

George placed the broom on the ground and walked up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his head on her shoulder.

"Do you really like it?" he whispered.

"Yes, George, I absolutely love it." Slowly, George turned her around until she was facing him. His eyes locked with hers and he lifted his hand to brush her windblown hair out of her face.

"I hope, that you, that you had a great birthday." George leaned in a bit closer to Lily. Her heart started to beat faster as she laid her hands on his chest.

"I'd have to say…that I did."

George's lips paused mere inches from her own. His eyes flickered down for a moment, then back up to meet hers. Lily's heart was racing, and her stomach was filled with butterflies. She shut her eyes as George closed the distance between them.

The kiss was sweet and soft. Lily almost fainted from sheer happiness. When they broke apart, both were smiling widely.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," George breathed, leaning his forehead against hers.

Lily laughed. "I can imagine." She took his hand and led him over to the hammock. George climbed in first and Lily snuggled in under his arm.

"You comfortable?" George asked.

Lily nodded. "Very."

The two remained on the hammock for hours, talking and gazing up at the stars. Finally, when Lily had half fallen asleep, George nudged her until she was awake enough to stand.

"Sorry, Lily, but we really should be getting back inside. You still haven't opened your present yet."

Lily was too tired to steer the broom, so she climbed on the back of it and wrapped her arms firmly around George' s waist. They stored the broom back on the Gryffindor lockers by the Quidditch pitch when they arrived back. By then Lily was asleep on her feet.

In one fluid motion, George picked her up and promptly carried her up seven flights of stairs to the common room.

"You didn't have to do that," Lily yawned as George set her down outside the portrait hole.

George smiled. It was my pleasure. The two of them entered the common room hand in hand. The room was vacant and all of the lights had been turned out.

"Surprise!" in a flash, the lights all came out at once and Fred, Harry, Ron, and Hermione popped out from behind the furniture. They each threw a handful of streamers into the air as well as some firecrackers that Fred had snitched from Filch.

Lily's smile grew wide as she was ushered over to one of the armchairs and a pile of presents was placed by her feet. She reached for one and began to open it.

After her stash had almost all been opened, she had acquired a pair of mittens from Harry and Ron, a book about useful everyday spells from Hermione, and a hand knitted red and green scarf from Fred.

"Did you make this?" she asked, holding it up.

Fred shook his head. "Mum made it, but I picked out the colors," he said proudly.

Lily laughed and turned to open the last present, from George. Inside was a teddy bear. Its body was a little disproportional, and its eyes were at different heights, but Lily knew in an instant what it was.

"Oh George," she breathed. "It's beautiful. I absolutely love it."

George blushed. "I'm glad. It took me almost all summer to make it."

"You made that?" Ron asked incredulously. George's face turned an even brighter red.

"I think it's brilliant Ron," Lily said, flashing George a smile.

"Alright then," Fred said, pulling Harry, Ron, and Hermione up from their seats. "It's getting really late and we should head to bed. Tomorrow's going to be another early wake up."

The three of them groaned, but climbed up the stairs to their rooms. Fred shot George a knowing look before he too went upstairs.

Lily stood up, the bear in her arms. "Thank you so much for today George. I absolutely loved it."

George smiled and pulled her into a warm hug. "I'm glad." He leaned in and kissed her for the second time. Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself in closer to him.

"Goodnight George," Lily said softly, gazing into his deep blue eyes.

"Goodnight Lily, and Happy Birthday."

The two parted ways. The door was finally open again. As soon as Lily had closed it behind her, she was bombarded with questions from Hermione. The girls stayed up for hours talking about what a day it had been, and of course, Lily's first kiss with George. All in all, they got about three hours of sleep before Harry and Ron woke them up for Christmas morning.


	25. Chapter 25

**I'd have to say that the events in this chapter came out of nowhere, so we'll see how it affects the story. I'm kinda at the point where I'm letting the story write itself in a way, so I hope you all enjoy it. Reviews please :)**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Harry Potter  
**

Chapter 8

"What is your problem?" Lily demanded as she stormed into the potions room. It was lunchtime and Professor Snape was sitting at his desk eating a bowl of soup.

"Excuse me?" he asked, his voice dry and expressionless.

"That essay. The one you assigned for Professor Lupin. What exactly is it you are getting at." Lily was standing in front of his desk with her arms crossed.

"Is it too much for your small mind to comprehend?" Lily frowned. She knew that Snape was only being like this because he hated Professor Lupin, but Lily was getting quite sick of him putting her down when he was in a bad mood.

"That is hardly the case. I don't know why you seem so insistent on us figuring out that Lupin is a werewolf but whatever the reason is – "

"You know he's a werewolf?" Snape cut in.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Please Professor. I don't appreciate you insulting my intelligence like this. Did you think I wouldn't recognize the potion you were brewing down here every month? Or do you feel I am so stupid as to not recognize why a boggart would turn into a full moon?"

Snape sighed. "It was not an insult aimed at you. You just continue to surprise me with your ability to figure out things that took me years to find out."

Lily sat down at the desk across from his and set her books down on the floor. "The two of you went to school together, didn't you?"

Snape's jaw clenched. "Unfortunately yes. Dear Remus happened to be one of the people I am proud to say I had a true reason to hate. He and the rest of those boys that tortured me as a student here."

"Don't you think he may have grown up a bit since then?" Lily asked.

"Regardless, I will never forgive him. I will never forgive any of them, especially _James_, "he spat the name in disgust.

"James Potter?" Snape looked up in surprise. "Harry's parents' names were Lily and James. It only made sense that his father is the James you hate so much. You were in love with his mother, and hate his father for bullying you and winning Lily in the end. That's why you hate Harry so much."

"He's the same as his father," Snape snarled.

Lily smiled sadly. "I can't honestly say that he's not, because I never knew James."

The two sat in silence for a while. Suddenly, Snape stood up and pulled out his wand.

"Have you ever tried using your mental abilities as a weapon?" he asked curiously. Lily shook her head.

"Come stand over here." Lily followed his directions and stood opposite the room from him. "Now I want you to picture me as an enemy. Someone that's trying to attack you."

Lily lifted her wand a bit, but Snape shk his head.

"No child, if you were going up against a Death Eater, they would kill you in an instant. You aren't at their level yet. In order to beat them you have to use something they're not expecting."

"What exactly do you mean?" Lily asked.

Snape beckoned her over to a cauldron of water sitting in the water. "Look into this." Lily watched as Snape pulled a tiny copper Knut out of his pocket and dropped it into the potion. It sank quickly to the bottom and left a pool of ripples in its wake.

"See those ripples?" Snape asked quietly. Lily nodded. "I want you to picture yourself as the center, and I want you to send out ripples with your mind, as a form of attack."

Lily let out a breath. "I can try." She took her place back on the other side of the room. Snape raised his wand and faced her. Lily shut her eyes and pictured the ripples. Slowly she began to release them, one at a time, in Snape's direction.

"Good, I can feel an uncomfortable pressure in my mind. But you are going to need to be more powerful if you ever hope to fend off any attackers."

Lily opened her eyes and glared at Snape, hoping her facade of anger would help make her attack stronger. She watched as sweat began to form at the top of his brow.

Both held their positions for a while and then started gasping for breath at exactly the same time.

"Not bad for a first shot," Snape commented. "But eventually you will have to be able to send sharp waves at people, not just ripples. Now let's – "

He was interrupted by a loud banging on the door. Looking away with frustration, he marched over and flung the door open. Standing on the other side was George, dressed in his Quidditch uniform.

"Oh my gosh, I totally forgot the match was today!" Lily rushed to gather her things, but Snape held up a hand to stop her.

"Wait a moment Miss Rain. I think your friend here could be helpful. It should only take a moment. Mr. Weasley, if you should be so kind to spare five minutes of your time, I would be persuaded to give Gryffindor house…ten points."

George smiled. "Make it twenty and you've got yourself a deal." Snape scowled but ushered him in.

"You, stand right here." George obliged. Snape leaned over and whispered something in his ear. George nodded and looked over at Lily.

"I want you to try the waves we talked about. Whenever you're ready." Snape reached around George and pulled him close to his chest, his wand directed at the boy's head. George struggled to get away, but Snape held on fast.

Lily knew that none of it was real, but the idea that it someday could be got her blood boiling. She didn't even close her eyes, she just let it loose, all in Snape's direction.

His startled expression let Lily know she had hit her mark. Snape released George and staggered back, clutching his head. He let out a hiss of pain.

"Very good job. I think you may have succeeded in giving me a migraine for the rest of the week," he growled. George walked back over to Lily and put his arm around her waist. Snape's eyes narrowed and he stood up straight. "You may both go."

George picked up Lily's stuff and slung it over his shoulder. They were almost out of the room when Lily reached out her mind to touch Professor Snape's. She felt the same throbbing pain as he did and she slowly began to relieve it. Lily wasn't sure exactly how she did it, but in an instant the pain was gone.

"Miss Rain," Lily turned to face her professor. He met her gaze and nodded his head in respect. "I don't know how you did it, but thank you."

Lily smiled, "You're welcome sir."

"I swear, Draco's inability to think through situations is going to get him really hurt some day," Lily told Hermione as the two girls walked back into the castle. The Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had just ended and Gryffindor had won by two hundred points.

Hermione laughed. "Probably." She stopped and gazed out into the distance. Lily looked over to see what had caught Hermione's attention and she saw both Kiki, and Hermione's cat Crookshanks sitting under a tree.

"What do you suppose they're doing?" Lily asked curiously.

Hermione shrugged. "I have no clue." The two girls continued to stare at the cats for a while. Finally Hermione asked. "Are you going up to the party in the Gryffindor common room?"

Lily nodded. "We should probably head up now. George will start to get worried if I don't show up soon."

Hermione smiled. "You two are so cute together."

A loud rapping on the girl's dormitory awoke Lily from her sleep that night.

"Rain," Pansy Parkinson mumbled, "see who's at the door." Lily rolled out of bed and opened the door. Standing in front of it was a furious Professor Snape.

"You, come with me." He grabbed her arm and dragged her all the way to his office where he sat her down and handed her a cup of tea.

"Drink." Lily obliged. "Now, Sirius Black has once again made it into the castle and this time was discovered inside of the boy's dormitory, standing over top of the youngest Mr. Weasley. However, he has yet again escaped our grasp. I want you to tell me where he is. Find him." Snape's voice was deadly. Lily figured it was best to do as he asked.

She opened her mind and slowly opened it wider and wider, looking for any sign of Black. She was about to give up her search when something peculiar caught her attention. Crookshanks and Kiki were sitting side by side outside of the Whomping Willow. They seemed to be waiting for something.

"Do you see anything?"

Lily shook her head. "No, no sign of him."

"What about anything unusual?"

"No," Lily lied. "Nothing." Snape's eyes looked murderous.

"Very well, you may go."

Lily got up and left Snape's office. Instead of going back to the common room, Lily walked down the hallway and up the stairs. Remembering a secret passage way that Fred and George had shown her earlier that year, she headed off in the direction of the Great Hall.

Behind one of the hanging tapestries was a secret room that the three of them had stumbled upon in their second year. Inside of the room was a single chair. Lily had learned that if the chair was turned 180 degrees, the wall in the back would open to reveal a passageway that led to the patch of ground where Hagrid kept his pumpkins (my brother's idea).

Lily followed the passageway until she was standing outside Hagrid's hut, in only her pajamas.

The cats were still sitting outside the tree. Lily froze when her eyes fell on the third member of their party. It was a huge black dog.

The dog stood up and started growling at her. It stopped when it heard a small mew from below it. Kiki appeared to be talking to the dog.

Sensing that the immediate danger was gone, Lily crouched down and reached out her hand. The dog looked down at Kiki again before walking slowly forward and pressing its nose into her hand.

"Hey there boy," Lily whispered, scratching the dog behind the ear. He stuck out his tongue and began to wag his tail. Lily smiled. She stretched out her mind again, not sure if she would be able to see anything.

What she saw sent chill up her spine. Her hand slowed to a stop and she met the dog's eyes.

"You're Sirius Black." The dog froze and stared at her. In the blink of an eye he turned and started to run.

"Wait!" Lily called, unaware of why she was so calm. "Don't go." The dog stopped and turned to face her.

"Whatever you are, whatever happened in the past, I know that you aren't dangerous. You wouldn't hurt me, or Harry."

The dog continued to gaze at her then gave a single bark and disappeared underneath the Whomping Willow.

Lily looked up and noticed for the first time that the tree was unusually still. Before she had any time to talk herself out of it, Lily darted after Sirius and followed him down the dark passage way.

"It's the shrieking shack," she whispered as she climbed out of the ground and into the old building. She took a few steps closer to the dog and stopped, waiting for something to happen.

One moment there was a dog sitting in front of her, and the next it had turned into the very man that the whole wizarding world was searching for.


	26. Chapter 26

**Sorry if this one is a little dull, but I felt it was needed. There are some interesting part in there, especially about - wait! I almost spilled the beans there. Read on to see what I'm referring to :) and please review. I swear, I really do love reading them :D**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. not me :(  
**

Chapter 9

"Who are you?" Sirius asked, his eyes full of caution.

"My name is Lily Rain. I'm a student at Hogwarts, and a friend of Harry's."

Sirius was filthy. His hair was matted and his clothes were torn and smudged with dirt. His grey eyes were calculating and held a trace of confusion. "How is it you knew who I was?"

Lily smiled. "I was…gifted with a special ability. I have extensive mental abilities, including being able to read the minds of humans, or Animagi in your case. It wasn't hard."

Sirius's eyes lit up for a moment. "Facinating!" then the wariness returned. "What are you going to do now that you know?"

"I'm not going to turn you in if that's what you're thinking. They've permitted the dementors kiss to be used on you if they catch you, and I would never let that happen to any person. No matter how bad."

Sirius's face sank. "Is that the only reason?"

"You aren't a danger to me," Lily said. "I can feel that you aren't. And if you aren't a danger to me, then that means you aren't after Harry. I don't know who it is you are after, but from that fact, I believe that what we know about you is wrong. So I want to know what really happened the day you were arrested."

Lily folded her arms and waited for his response.

"The wizarding world is correct in their assumption that it is my fault Lily and James are dead. I as good as killed them. After Dumbledore told James that You-Know-Who was after him, he came to me and asked me to be his secret keeper. I convinced him that Peter would be a much better choice. Peter was always a cowardly person, and I thought he would be the last one You-Know-Who would suspect. I failed to realize that Peter, at that point, would betray his friends. He was the one who sold Lily and James to You-Know-Who.

"When I found out what had happened, I was devastated. Peter found me in the middle of London one day. He started yelling at me, blaming me for their deaths. Then he pulled out his wand and held it behind his back and blew up everyone within a 20 foot radius of us. The reason they only found his finger was because the coward cut it off before disappearing down the sewer with the rest of the rats."

"So that means that, Peter Pettigrew is alive. And…he's Ron's rat!"

Sirius looked at her in shock. "How – how did you know that?"

"It makes perfect sense. Ron's had that thing for twelve years now. Fred and George are always making fun of him for that. Rats have a normal life span of three years. The only way that Scabbers would be able to live that long would be if he wasn't a real rat."

Sirius smiled. "You really are a bright child."

Lily shrugged. "So you really are innocent. Does that mean that you really did send the Firebolt to Harry? Hermione thought you did, but McGonagall looked it over and there wasn't any kind of curse on it at all."

"Why would I want to curse Harry? He's my godson."

"Well it makes sense now. Of course you wouldn't want to hurt him." The two were silent for a moment.

"So what are you going to do?" Lily asked Sirius finally.

"I'm going to find Pettigrew somehow and prove that I'm innocent."

Lily nodded her head. "If there is any way I can help, let me know."

Sirius looked at her in surprise. "You…you want to help me?"

"Of course. I know that you're telling me the truth, and I want to see you free again."

Sirius smiled and took a step closer to her. When she didn't make a move to run away, or reach for her wand, he closed the distance between them. Lily looked into his eyes and gave him a reassuring smile. She reached her arms out and hugged him around the waist. When she pulled away, there were tears in his eyes.

"I haven't had contact with another human in over twelve years," he said, his voice cracking with emotion. Lily reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"I don't know how much I can make a difference with your situation. But I swear I'll try my hardest." Lily turned to leave, but Sirius held onto her hand.

"I know it seems a lot to ask of you, but will you stay, for tonight. It's been so long, I don't want to be alone again so soon."

Lily smiled. "I suppose one night wouldn't hurt." She walked over to a corner where a pile of old blankets had been stashed. She dragged them out and made up a little nest for the two of them to lie on. Sirius walked over and laid down next to her.

"You aren't by any chance related to Charles Rain, are you?" Sirius asked after a moment of silence.

"He's my uncle. I live with him and my Aunt Jessica since my mother died."

"What was your mother's name?"

"Melanie. Did you know her?"

Sirius smiled sadly. "Yes, I knew your mother. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever met. She looks a lot like you now that I think about it. Same brilliant green eyes, although your hair is a little darker then hers was. Boy, did I have a crush on her." He chuckled and stared up at the ceiling, placing his hands under his head. "I never did have the courage to ask her out. I normally was a hit with the ladies, but Melanie always had a way of making me trip over my own two feet. I think she rather enjoyed my foolishness around her."

"Why didn't you ever ask her out once you left Hogwarts?" Lily asked curiously.

"I don't know. The two of us remained friends for a while. And then she stopped talking to me. I don't know why. I tried to visit her several times, but she wouldn't talk to me. I was devastated when I learned that she had died. She never did tell me that she had a child."

"I don't think she wanted anyone to know," Lily murmured.

"If anyone knew about you it would be Alice Longbottom. She and Melanie were best friends."

"Neville's mother?" Lily asked. Sirius nodded.

"The two of them shared everything with each other. Melanie would have told Alice everything that happened. She would know for sure."

Lily's stomach twisted. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what had happened to cause her birth. Any way she looked at it didn't form a pretty picture.

"What about your father?" Sirius asked curiously.

Lily sighed. "I've never met him. No one ever told me who he was." That wasn't exactly a lie. She did know who he was, but Lily would never tell anyone, except George, who he was.

"That's alright. Sometimes not knowing your parents can be a good thing. My parents were awful. The whole Black family was a supporter of You-Know-Who. I ran away from home at the age of sixteen. I just couldn't take it anymore. Lucky for me, I had the best friend in the world. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were more than happy to make me their second son."

Lily and Sirius stayed up late into the night talking. She must have dozed off at some point, because the next thing she knew she was being awoken by a soft hand on her cheek.

"Lily, you need to get up now. It's almost morning." Lily sat up and stretched. Slowly she stood up and turned to face Sirius. He gave her a strong hug and pulled back smiling.

"Thank you for last night," he said. Lily smiled back.

"It was no trouble at all. I only wish I could do more." She bid him goodbye and walked back through the passageway and into the castle. No one was in the dungeon hallways and the common room was empty when she entered it.

Exhausted, and not willing to take the risk of waking her roommates, Lily kicked off her shoes and fell back asleep on the couch, thoughts of Sirius in her mind.


	27. Chapter 27

**Another chapter done. This one took a while because a quarter of the way through it I got struck with the dreaded writer's block :0 luckily it went away. I'm slowly winding my way down to the end of book three. Hope you all have liked it so far. Let me know how you feel about what's been going on. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
**

Chapter 10

"Miss Rain, may I see you in my office please?" Professor Lupin asked as Lily walked past his classroom, on her way to the final Quidditch match of the season.

"Sure Professor." She followed him in and he shut the door behind her. She knew she was in trouble the moment his eyes met hers.

"You have now skipped my class a total of five times in the past month, and twice in just this week. Am I that bad of a teacher?" His tone was disapproving and made Lily lower her gaze.

"I'm sorry Professor, I really am. I just – I have things I need to do." The truth was, she had been sneaking food out to Sirius and had been spending as much time with him as she could. But she couldn't tell Lupin that, even if he and Sirius had been friends in school. Lupin still didn't know about Sirius's innocence.

"You don't expect me to take that as an answer, do you Lily?" It was the first time the professor had used her first name.

"No. I don't sir. But I can't tell you the answer to your question, so you're out of luck." She didn't mean to be so rude, but lately, with all of the homework the teachers had assigned, and all of the classes she was skipping out on, she hadn't slept very well.

Lupin crossed his arms and stared at her sternly. "Miss Rain, we do have a killer on the loose, if you weren't aware. Any time a student isn't where they are supposed to be is a moment when Sirius Black could strike."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I thought he was supposed to be after Harry Potter. Last time I checked, he wouldn't have any interest in me."

"Just because he's after Harry doesn't mean he can't kill you if you get in his way."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Then I'll try and stay out of his way." She turned to walk out the door but Lupin grabbed her arm.

"That's not going to be good enough. Let me ask you again. Where have you been sneaking off to?"

Lily scowled. "Oh, so now I'm sneaking off?"

"Don't try my patience Lily. I have ways of finding out if you won't tell me."

"How? By spying on me with that map you took from Harry?"

Lupin's eyes narrowed. "If I have to I will, but I prefer to give people their privacy."

Lily glared at him, but inside she was smiling. She, Fred, and George had discovered ages ago that Lily could make herself disappear and reappear willingly on the map. They guessed it had something to do with her mental abilities. The map somehow registered each person by the signals their minds gave off. With Lily's ability to turn off her signals at will, the map wouldn't be able to trace her.

"Alright. I won't skip your class anymore. You happy?"

Lupin frowned. "Very well. You may go to the match now. But be warned. I will be watching you." Lily rolled her eyes and exited the DADA room.

The weather was perfect for a Quidditch match. Lily climbed the stairs up to the Gryffindor stands and took her seat next to Hermione and Ron. George had offered to give her one of his scarves so she would blend in better with the crowd, but she had refused him saying that it would be easier for him to spot her if she was the only green in a sea of red and gold.

Lily cheered happily for the Gryffindor team when they did well, and she booed the Slytherin team whenever they scored. When Harry raced in front of Malfoy and caught the snitch, ending the game in a Gryffindor victory, Lily leapt up from her seat and followed Hermione down to the field. She raced across the grass in the direction of the group of red robes that were hugging fiercely in the middle of the field.

"George!" she shouted. He turned around and opened his arms wide, catching her in a hug and swinging her around happily.

She pulled him close and kissed him on the lips. A cheer went up from the people standing behind her and she and George broke apart to see the entire Gryffindor team, plus Ron and Hermione, smiling and clapping.

Fred glared playfully at her. "Where's my congratulatory kiss?" he whined.

Lily smiled and walked over to him. There was a collective 'aww' as she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Much better." Lily laughed as George slipped his arm around her waist.

"Alright everyone. Party up in the common room. Let's go!" everyone turned to race up to the seventh floor, but an all too familiar voice stopped them in their tracks.

"That was a game well played. Congratulations to all of you." The team spun around and all hugged the tear stained Professor McGonagall. Lily hung back as Ron and Hermione joined in too.

"Come here Miss Rain. You may join in if you wish. You are as good as a Gryffindor in my eyes." A smile broke out across Lily's face and she rushed forward. The group laughed and cried together until, finally, they calmed down enough to speak.

"Try not to stay up too late tonight. And Miss Rain, make sure you are back in your common room by midnight tonight." Lily nodded her head and returned the Professor's smile. It was extremely generous of her to let Lily remain with her friends for an extra two hours after curfew.

The group headed back to the Gryffindor tower together and were shortly joined by the other members of the house as they came streaming out of the stands.

Without any warning, Lily was pulled off to the side and under the stands. She looked behind her and saw Fred and George motioning for her to remain silent. They waited until the last people from the stadium had exited before the twins finally explained what they were doing hiding.

"We're going to show you the kitchens," George murmured in her ear. Lily smiled and her eyes lit up. She had never been to the Hogwarts kitchens before, but she knew that was where Fred and George always got food for the various parties held in the Gryffindor common room.

The three quietly sneaked up to the castle and down the staircase that lead to the Hufflepuff common room. Fred and George led her down the hallway and stopped in front of a giant picture of a bowl of fruit.

"Would you like to do the honors, Fred?" George asked his brother. Fred shook his head.

"Let's let Lily do it. Reach up and tickle the pear." Fred ordered. Lily gave him a strange look but raised her hand and began to tickle the pear as Fred had instructed.

Suddenly there was a handle where the pear had been. Lily pulled with all her might and the door slowly opened to reveal a room almost identical to the Great Hall on the floor above them.

"Mr. Weasleys!" a voice exclaimed. Lily looked down and saw before her a house elf, dressed in a wool hat and a baggy white t-shirt.

"Hey Dobby. Mind if we come in?" Fred greeted. Dobby grinned widely and stepped aside so the three could get through. There were probably about a hundred house elves in the room, all busy working on dinner for that night.

"Is this the Miss Lily we've heard so much about?" Dobby asked curiously.

Lily smiled. "That would be me." She glanced over at George and he blushed.

"Help yourself Lily. They love sharing." Fred's arms were already filled with boxes of cupcakes and cookies. He pulled a large bag out from one of the cupboards and began placing more food inside.

Lily didn't have to go looking for any food at all. Fred was right in saying that the elves loved to share. No sooner had she taken one more step inside then a dozen elves had approached her and started handing her all sorts of food. Sweets, chips, pretzels, jugs of drinks, and more she couldn't even keep track of.

Once all three of them could carry no more, they bid the elves goodbye and began their long ascent to the Gryffindor common room.

"Why do you have to have your common room all the way up on the seventh floor?" Lily grumbled as they finally came in sight of the Fat Lady's portrait. When they entered the room, a loud cheer erupted. The food they had gathered was placed on a large wooden table in the middle of the room, and the partying began.

After several hours of eating way too many cupcakes and dancing to too many songs, Lily finally collapsed on the couch. Moments later, George joined her. He slung his arm around her shoulder and she snuggled up next to him.

"Do you want this?" George asked, offering her a chocolate frosted cupcake. Lily groaned.

"What are you trying to do? Make me fat?" George laughed and placed the cupcake on the side table before snaking his arm around her waist and kissing her.

"Never, my dear. Besides, you look just perfect the way you are," he murmured between kisses.

A light whack on the head grabbed their attention.

"Now now," Alicia said, her eyes glinting with humor. "There will be none of that here. Keep it G rated."

Lily laughed. She and Alicia weren't close friend, but the fifth year had gotten over her crush on George and was much more fun to be around.

"Who promoted you to kissing patrol?" George asked, his eyes shining. Alicia stuck her tongue out and pranced off, probably to go find Angelina and Katie.

"I should probably get back to my dormitory soon," Lily said after a while of them sitting there.

"Do you have to?" George whined. "It's only 9:30."

"I know, but I'm really tired, and I still have homework to do. If you don't let me go now, I'll have to do it all tomorrow, and that will cut into time I could be spending with you." Lily knew she had won. George got up grudgingly and walked her to the door. Grabbing a small bag of snacks, he gave them to her.

"For you, in case you want anymore." Lily smiled.

George pulled her closer to him and kissed her gently on the lips. Lily smiled into the kiss. How she loved this.

"Goodnight George."

"Goodnight Lily," George murmured.

"Goodnight Lily!" Fred called from across the room. Lily laughed as the rest of the common room began saying their goodbyes to her.

As she stepped out of the portrait hole and it shut behind her, Lily made sure that there was no way that Professor Lupin would be able to track her. As far as he knew, she would still be inside of the Gryffindor common room.

It took her a good half an hour to finally make it to the shrieking shack. Several times Lily had to hide in a nearby classroom to escape approaching footsteps of teachers patrolling the corridors. Luckily, Lily could sense them from a ways off and had enough time to hide before they came in sight of her.

Sirius was sleeping in his dog form on one of the musty blankets when Lily pulled herself up from the tunnel. His nose twitched and slowly he opened his eyes. Upon recognizing it was her, Sirius jumped up and quickly transformed.

"Lily!" he said happily as he enveloped her in a hug. "What are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

Lily smiled and handed him the bag of sweets. "These are for you." Sirius's eyes lit up and he dove for the bag.

"Oh my gosh! I haven't had something like this in forever."

Lily giggled and sat down on the blanket next to where he had started shoving the food in his mouth. "Slow down there. You'll get a stomachache if you eat it too fast."

Sirius stopped and chewed more slowly. "What's all this for anyway?" he asked.

Lily smiled, anticipating his reaction. "Gryffindor won the Quidditch cup today."

Sirius jumped up. "Brilliant! Oh, I wish I could have seen Harry play. I'm sure he was absolutely amazing."

"He was. Grabbed the snitch right out from Malfoy's fingertips. It was a truly spectacular game."

Sirius looked down sadly. "You know, sometimes I get to thinking about all of the things I'm missing because of what happened."

Lily reached her hand over and placed it on his knee. "Don't Sirius. Nothing good will come of it. Just think of all of the good times you will have once this is all over."

Sirius nodded and looked up at her eyes. His gaze suddenly flickered to the emblem on her robes.

"You're in Slytherin?" he questioned.

Lily nodded. "Unfortunately. It stinks because all of my friends are in Gryffindor. I wish more than anything that I could be in the same house as them."

"Why were you put in Slytherin?"

Lily shrugged, unable to tell him the truth, that she was Slytherin's descendant. "Does anyone really ever know why they are sorted into a particular house?"

"True. My entire family was in Slytherin. I was the only exception. Probably one of the reasons my mother hated me so much."

Lily sighed and laid her head down on the floor. "At least you had a chance to know your mother."

Sirius smiled sadly and lay down next to her. "What do you want to know?"

"Was she really smart?"

"Definitely. She was the smartest person I knew. Smarter than even Remus. She got all O's on her O.W.L.'s except for Care of Magical Creatures. Give her a wand and a spellbook and she could have perfected them all in a week's time, but put a Hippogriff in front of her and she would freeze up. I never did understand that about her."

Lily smiled. "I guess we all have something about us that we're not good at. Like me, I'm horrible at History of Magic."

Sirius laughed. "Lily, my friend, everyone that has a life is horrible at that class."

"What was Charles like in school?"

Sirius smiled. "I remember him only faintly. He was a few years older than us you see. Every time I saw him he was always sitting at the Ravenclaw table with his textbooks or a newspaper. He was always interested in what was going on in the world."

"That sounds exactly like him."

"Yeah. At least your mother knew how to have some kind of fun, and Nikki, boy did she know how to party!"

"Nikki?" Lily looked at Sirius confused. "Who's Nikki?"

Sirius was in shock. "You don't know? Nicolette Rain is your mother's younger sister, your aunt."

"I – I have an aunt? Charles never told me that before."

"Aren't there any pictures of her around?" Sirius asked.

"No. Charles doesn't keep any pictures up around the house. I think it's too painful for him too look at my mother, and at Nikki."

Sirius frowned. "Maybe he was planning on telling you when you were older. When he could figure out a way to tell you."

"Yeah. I guess. What happened to her?"

"She died too. Around the same time as your mother."

Lily felt her stomach sink. The closer she came to finding out the truth, the more and more she started to believe that she would be better off not knowing.


	28. Chapter 28

**Sorry if this chapter is too 'out of the book' but it needed to be in there. Ahh...winding my way down. Probably only one more chapter left until the beginning of book 4. Enjoy everyone :) and please let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. Not to me.  
**

Chapter 11

A sharp pain in Lily's ear caused her to awaken in the middle of the night. She propped herself up and found herself face to face with Kiki. Lily reached her hand up to her throbbing ear and felt moisture seeping from it.

"You stupid cat!" Lily hissed, careful not to wake her roommates. "You bit me!"

Kiki meowed and leapt off the bed. Lily grudgingly got up and put her robe and slippers on. Slowly she followed her cat all the way up to the fourth floor. Kiki led her down the hallway, straight for the hospital wing.

What Lily saw stopped her in her tracks. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all lying on beds, unconscious.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Madame Pomfrey asked a bit harshly.

"My cat," Lily said, pointing to Kiki, who was sitting on the floor licking her paw. "She woke me up and brought me here. May I stay please? These are my friends."

Madame Pomfrey's eyes narrowed, but she nodded her head. "Very well."

Lily walked over to Ron's bed and sat down, placing her hand in his. She stayed that way for a while, looking up at the clock every once in a while.

At about ten of twelve, she heard voices in the hallway. It was Professor Snape, and someone else, who she soon discovered to be the Minister of Magic: Cornelius Fudge.

They were talking about Sirius. But Lily was having a hard time understanding what they were saying. She was on the opposite side of the room from the door, and not much was coming through. Had they found him? Was he alright? It took all of Lily's self control to wait until both men entered the room.

Harry had sat up and was placing his glasses on his face when Madame Pomfrey approached him. She must have said something to him because Harry jumped up from his bed and shouted, "WHAT?" at the top f his lungs. Hermione too was on her feet.

Fudge came bursting in the room, alerted by the shout, with Snape right behind him.

"Harry, Harry what is this? You should be in bed – has he had any chocolate?"

Lily's heart was pounding. What had happened to make Harry so upset?

"Minister listen! Sirius Black is innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's – "

The minister cut him off, but Lily didn't hear anything else. Her blood had gone cold and she felt the sudden urge to run from the room and find Sirius. He was in the castle somewhere if he had been captured, and he was in danger if Harry knew the dementors were going to use the kiss on him. She didn't have much time in which to do anything, and she didn't know what she would do if she did have any time left.

Lily's attention was brought back to the room when Professor Dumbledore walked in.

"For heaven's sake! Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster I must insist – "

Dumbledore cut her off. "My apologies Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter and Miss Granger. I have just been talking to Sirius Black – "

"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" Snape spat. Lily had never seen him so full of hatred before. "Something about a rat and Pettigrew being alive – "

"That, indeed, is Black's story."

"And does my evidence count for nothing? Peter Pettigrew was not in the shrieking shack, nor did I see any signs of him on the grounds."

"That's because you were knocked out Professor," Hermione put in. "You didn't arrive in time to hear – "

"Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"

"Now Snape," Fudge said, trying to calm the enraged teacher. "The young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances – "

"I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," Dumbledore said sharply. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy – please leave us."

"I'll go too Headmaster," Lily piped up. All heads turned to the back of the room. The shock on their faces told Lily that they had just figured out she was there.

"Miss Rain, what are you – never mind. That can wait. All of you out now!"

Lily hopped down from the bed and hurried out of the room with the other adults on her heels.

Snape lingered in the doorway, and Lily stopped to wait for him.

"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape's voice was soft.

"I wish to speak with them alone," Dumbledore repeated.

Snape took a step forward. "Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," He breathed, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?"

"My memory is as good as it ever was Severus." Dumbledore's voice was quiet and Lily could sense that this was a pivotal point for the evening. She slowly reached out and took Snape's hand in hers. He barely looked down at her as she led him out of the room and down the hallway. Fudge had disappeared already and Lily guessed he had gone to check on the dementors. Sirius didn't have much time left.

A sudden feeling in Lily's gut told her that the two of them had to get out of the hallway. She was relieved to hear Snape's next statement.

"Let's go up to Flitwick's office. Black won't be going anywhere on my watch." Snape marched off to the seventh floor with Lily in tow behind him. It took them a few minutes to climb all the way up to the office. They met a winded Fudge halfway up.

"I'm not as young as I used to be," he wheezed, trying to catch his breath. He paused and looked at Lily curiously. "Who are you? And why are you not in bed?"

Lily smiled and extended her hand. "My name is Lily Rain sir. My cat woke me up tonight and brought me to the Hospital Wing. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are my friends. I can't just go back to bed until I know they are all going to be ok."

Fudge nodded, his eyes softening. "You are a good friend, Lily." He patted her on the shoulder and the three continued their hike up to the seventh floor.

When they reached Flitwick's office Snape took out his wand and unlocked the door. Slowly he pushed it open. What he saw stopped all three of them in their tracks.

The room was exactly the way it always looked. All of the windows were closed tightly, and everything was in order. But there was no Sirius Black.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Snape screamed, his anger ricocheting off the walls and down the hallway.

"How –" Fudge stuttered, "how is this possible?"

"NO!" Snape shouted, spinning around and bolting for the staircase. Fudge followed quickly behind him and Lily had t struggle to keep up.

"This is not happening," Snape muttered to himself as he practically flew down the stairs.

"Severus please, calm down. You'll wake everyone up."

"I know exactly who is responsible for this," Snape growled as he reached the fourth floor."

"He must have Disapperated, Severus. We should have left someone in the room with him. When this gets out –"

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPERATE!" Snape roared, his face boiling. "YOU CANT APPERATE _OR_ DASAPPERATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS – HAS – SOMETHING – TO – DO – WITH – POTTER!"

Fudge sounded shocked. "Severus, be reasonable – Harry has been locked up – "

Snape wasn't listening. He reached the Hospital Wing door and threw it open. He rushed in and stared at Harry with murder in his eyes. Dumbledore had joined them from somewhere and now all three adults were looking at both Harry and Hermione.

"OUT WITH IT POTTER!" Snape bellowed, "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Lily was astounded at his accusation. Did he really think Harry could have gotten up to Flitwicks office faster than they had, help Sirius escape, and get back down again without getting caught? What an absurd idea! Snape was probably just really frustrated and was taking it out on the person he hated most.

"See here Snape, be reasonable," Fudge said. He was upset about the turn of events too, but not nearly as much as Snape was. "This door has been locked, we just saw - "

"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at both Harry and Hermione.

"Calm down man! You're talking nonsense!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER! HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT – "

"That will do Severus," Dumbledore said quietly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?"

"Of course not! I would have heard them!" she said.

"There you have it, Severus. Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

Snape gave Harry and Dumbledore a murderous glare before spinning around and stormed out of the room.

"Miss Rain, would you mind giving him some company?" Dumbledore asked kindly. Lily nodded her head in understanding. The headmaster trusted her to calm the Potions Professor down. How she was going to do that, she had no idea.

Snape was striding down the hallway at a breakneck pace. Lily had to run in order to come close to catching up with him.

"Professor Snape!" Lily called. He ignored her. Narrowing her eyes she sped up and rammed into his right side, using all of her might to push him up against the wall.

Both of them were panting and glaring at each other.

"Severus," Lily said sternly, using his first name to get his attention, "we need to talk. Now."

"Get your hands off me, Lily," he snarled. Somehow within the last ten minutes they had progressed to a first name basis.

"No. You _will_ come with me, we _will_ talk, and you _will_ listen to what I have to say." She dragged him into the nearest room and closed the door behind her. They were in one of the teachers lounges.

"Sit." Lily ordered. Snape sat down as Lily lit up the room with her wand. She then came over and joined him.

"What is the problem?" Lily asked him, knowing full well the answer she was going to get.

"The problem, Lily, is that one of the boys who bullied me when I was younger, the very one who murdered twelve people, was just allowed to escape punishment yet again, and I want to know why."

"That's not the reason you are so mad, and you and I both know it Severus, so why don't you tell me what's really going on in that head of yours."

"That bastard was the one who killed Lily. I want him to BURN for what he has done!" Snape hissed, his eyes black and cold.

"Really? I was under the impression that Voldemort was the one who killed Lily, not Sirius."

Snape glared at Lily but she held his gaze. "He as good as killed her. Lily trusted him to protect her family, and he betrayed her to the Dark Lord. He is the reason she is dead!"

Lily didn't know where the words were coming from, but she continued to speak them. "What if I told you that Black was innocent? That Pettigrew really was alive, that he, and not Sirius, was the Potter's secret keeper the night Voldemort murdered them? Would you be in this state of mind then?"

"YES! I don't give a damn if Black was their secret keeper or not! If he wasn't then he let the coward Pettigrew be it, so it is still his fault!"

"So, this isn't about Sirius being a mass murderer at all? This is about Lily."

Snape moaned and buried his head in his hands. "Yes, it's about Lily. It's always about Lily."

Lily reached over and placed her hand on Snape's face. He looked at her with tears streaming down his face. Lily got out of her chair and kneeled down on the floor in front of him. Gently, she brushed his tears away.

"This hatred has to go away. You and Sirius are on the same side now. You are fighting for the same cause. You don't have to be best friends with him, I swear, no one will ever ask you to do that. Remember, Lily loved Sirius, just as she loved you. Show her some respect and at least try not to get her friend killed."

Snape looked at her with bewilderment on his face, but Lily could see the anger leaving his eyes. He sighed and took her hand in his, staring into her emerald eyes.

"Why," he asked quietly. "Why did you come after me?"

Lily smiled softly. "Because. You are the closest thing to a father I have. I had to make sure you were ok."

Lily saw her Potions teacher smile for the first time that night.


	29. Chapter 29

**Book 3 is DONE!! now on to 4. I hope you all liked it. review so I know what you think. :) Please and Thank You!!! :) :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
**

Chapter 12

Another year had come and gone all too quickly for Lily. She spent the last day of term packing and saying goodbye to all of her teachers.

When she stopped to visit Professor Snape, he was sitting at his desk, reading one of his potions books.

Lily knocked lightly on the doorframe before entering the room. Snape looked up and followed her with his eyes as she approached him.

"To what do I owe this visit, Miss Rain?" the two had gone back to their original relations the next day. According to Snape, it wasn't very appropriate for a student and a teacher to be as close as they were. Lily understood, but it didn't change how she viewed her Potions Professor, nor did it change how he saw her.

"I'm saying goodbye to all of my professors before I go up to the end of the year feast."

"This term does seem like it has gone by quickly," Snape said thoughtfully. "But much has happened since this past September. You have increased your abilities tenfold since the start of the term."

"Only thanks to you," Lily pointed out.

Snape nodded curtly. "I only wish to help you become the best witch you can be. Now, I am sure that I am not the last stop on your agenda this afternoon. The feast will start in less than an hour, so I suggest you get a move on."

Lily smiled and gave him a wave goodbye. He returned it a little less enthusiastically. The last teacher she had to visit was Professor Lupin. When she arrived she saw that his entire office was stripped bare. Two suitcases were in the center of the room and Lupin was just finishing throwing away the last scraps of paper from his desk.

"Dumbledore didn't fire you, did he?"

Lupin looked up and smiled sadly. "Not quite. I am, in fact, resigning from my post as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"But why? You were the best teacher we ever had."

Lupin chuckled. "Be that as it may, Professor Snape was very upset about the whole ordeal that occurred last night and he, well he _accidentally_ let it slip that I was a werewolf at breakfast. The letters from parents will be arriving soon, and Dumbledore has already been so kind to me. I think it is time for me to repay him."

Lily nodded her head in understanding. "I will be sorry to see you go."

Lupin smiled slightly. "You know, I was under the impression that you disliked me."

"No Professor. I do like you. The last time we spoke you were asking me where I was always sneaking off to, and at that time I couldn't tell you."

"Are you implying that you can tell me now?"

"I was bringing Sirius food." Lupin's eyes widened.

"You knew about him?"

Lily laughed. "Yes. We first met after the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor game. I'd been helping him ever since. I knew you wouldn't believe me until you had proof about Peter, so I kept it hidden from you."

Lupin smiled. "I don't think I could ever thank you enough then. Sirius is like a brother to me, and the fact that you would risk that much to make sure he was alright, well, it means a lot to me." He walked over to Lily and gave her a hug.

"Sirius is my friend too. I couldn't let anything happen to him." Lily paused and looked at the floor. "I'm really going to miss him now that he's gone."

"If I know Sirius, you can be sure that he will find a way to keep in touch. It wouldn't surprise me if Harry found a letter from him before term officially ends tomorrow morning and you all go home."

Professor Lupin had been right, of course. Lily was sitting on the train curled up on George's lap when the compartment door slid open. She sat up and saw Harry standing before her, a letter in his hand.

"This is for you," he said slowly, handing the piece of paper to her. Lily knew instantly who it was from when she saw the look of complete confusion in Harry's eyes.

"I'll be right back guys. I need to talk to Harry for a moment." She followed Harry out of the compartment and into the one he, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in.

"Why did Sirius write to you?" Ron blurted out the moment Lily sat down. She took a deep breath and went into a brief explanation of how she had met Sirius and helped him. She had to twist the truth at some points to hide the fact that she had extraordinary mental abilities. When she was done, all three of them were looking at her dumfounded.

"So all those times you skipped Lupin's class, that was to meet Sirius?" Harry asked.

Lily nodded.

"You were really brave," Hermione added.

Lily shrugged. "Not really. I just followed my heart. I grew to care about Sirius just as much as you did. It was the only thing I could do. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to the compartment with Fred and George."

When she got back she sat down and opened the letter for the first time.

_Dear Lily,_

_I hope you are doing well. I wish I could have been able to say goodbye to you and thank you properly for everything you have done for me this year, but due to certain circumstances, that was not possible. Please forgive me. We will meet again in the near future, I promise you. But until then, keep me close to your heart, and I will do the same._

_I will write to you again soon. If either you or Harry needs me, all you need to do is send word. I will be there for you just as you were for me. _

_Until we meet again, _

_Sirius_

Lily folded up the letter and stuck it in her bag. She would have to burn it when she got home, but for the meantime she could carry a bit of her friend with her.

"Hey Lily," George said, interrupting her thoughts, "The Quidditch World Cup is this summer. Dad said he could get tickets through work, so you're coming with us, right?"

Lily beamed at him. "I wouldn't miss it." She closed her eyes and leaned into George's side, picturing how great this upcoming summer was going to be.

The train ride was over far too soon. Lily climbed off the train with Fred and George right behind her. The three of them walked over to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley who were waiting off to the side by a fat man with a graying mustache.

"Hello boys," Mrs. Weasley said giving both of them hugs before turning to greet Lily. "It's nice to see you again sweetheart."

George slipped his hand into Lily's and Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened, she looked back and forth between Lily and George and gave a squeal of delight before embracing them in a giant bear hug.

"George! You didn't tell me that you and Lily were together!"

George rolled his eyes. "That, mother, is because I didn't want you to react like this."

Mrs. Weasley, oblivious to her son's comment, grasped Lily's hands in hers. "You must come to visit us this summer, dear. She's coming with us to the World Cup, right boys?"

"Yes Mum."

"Good, good. It looks like you have to go, but we'll talk soon and figure out a date for you to come out."

Lily looked over her shoulder and saw Charles standing a few feet away. She hugged each of the Weasley's goodbye and gave George a kiss.

"Goodbye Lily." George said as she turned and walked away.

"I better not have to wait too long to see you Rain!" Fred called after her as he jumped up and down wildly.

Lily laughed and gave him a wave which he took as an 'ok'.

Charles smiled down at her. "They seem like a really nice family," he remarked.

Lily nodded. "They really are. I'm gonna miss them."

"The summer will go by quicker than you know it. You will see them all again soon. I promise."


	30. Chapter 30

**The first step into the 4th book has been taken :0 honestly, I'm quite proud of myself. I didnt think I would get this far. It's thanks to all of you readers out there. Thanks for sticking with me so far and letting me know how I'm doing. I really appreciate it. 3 books down and 4 more to go. Keep the reviews up :) they really keep my spirits up :) Hope you all enjoy this chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: My name is not J. K. Rowling, therefore, I do not own Harry Potter  
**

Book 4

Chapter 1

A cloud of dust rose into the air as Lily moved the multiple boxes around in her attic. She coughed as some of the dirt entered her lungs.

"How long has it been since someone was up here?" She muttered as she glanced around the room, praying she would find what she was looking for.

_There_ in the corner of the room was a small box, tucked away and hidden under an old blue blanket. That had to be it. Lily made her way slowly over to the tiny box. She pushed some of the bigger boxes out of her way and sat down on the floor.

Taking a deep breath, Lily pulled the box out and opened it up. Jackpot.

There were piles of letters inside as well as dozens of pictures that her uncle must have removed from both his house and Melanie's when she had died.

The first picture Lily pulled out was one of three children. The oldest looked to be about ten years old. He was sitting on the couch with his arms around a girl a little younger than him and another girl that looked to be four or five years old.

"Mom," Lily whispered as she ran her fingers over the older girl. All three children were laughing and every once in a while they would calm down, just to start back up again. Lily placed the photo down and picked up one of the letters.

Most of the letters were ones that Melanie or Nikki had written to their parents during their Hogwarts years. Some of them were from Alice asking Melanie when she was going to come visit during the summer.

Lily picked up another one of the pictures. This one was one of her mother and aunt. It must have been taken on Melanie's graduation day, because she was wearing a deep blue robe with the Ravenclaw insignia on it. Nikki was standing next to her older sister, dressed in her normal Hogwarts robes. Lily was surprised to see that her aunt had been in Gryffindor, not Ravenclaw like she had expected.

"What happened to you?" Lily asked softly as she sifted through the box some more.

There was a small notebook at the bottom that caught Lily's attention. She opened it up and almost started crying. Each page was dedicated to a single person in Melanie's life. It was like a scrapbook. Each person had a picture and then at the bottom Melanie had written in what was so special about each and every one of them.

As she flipped through, she spotted many familiar faces. Nikki and Charles were first, followed by Alice. She also recognized Sirius and Remus, as well as James and Lily, Harry's parents. Most of the inscriptions made Lily laugh, despite the tears flowing down her cheeks. Some of the funniest ones were those of the teachers that Melanie had all those years ago, and that Lily still had.

She paused as she reached a page towards the back. It was Snape. He looked almost the same. The same sallow skin and crooked nose. The same greasy black hair. The same expression of boredom mixed with anger and sadness.

The inscription beneath was short and sweet.

Such a sad boy. I wish there was something I could do to help him. But I don't know what.

That was all her mother had written, leaving much of the space empty. She either hadn't known Snape very well and didn't know what to write, or she knew him very well and didn't know how else to describe him.

"Why did you never mention my mother?" Lily whispered to the scowling picture of her current potions professor. As expected, he didn't respond.

The soft pitter patter of feet caught Lily's attention. She looked up and saw Kiki staring at her from the top of one of the piled of boxes. Kiki meowed once and swatted at Lily's ponytail.

"Alright Kiki, I'm coming." She grabbed the picture of her mother and aunt and tucked it away in her pocket. Making sure the box was just as she had left it, Lily climbed down the ladder and closed the trap door behind her.

Moments later Jessica's voice sounded from the kitchen.

"Lily! Lily get down here! You have some mail!"

Lily sighed and followed Kiki down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Here." Lily took the letter from her aunt and ripped it open. It was from Fred and George.

"What does it say?" Jessica asked impatiently.

"Fred and George are inviting me to come with them to the Quidditch World Cup later this summer."

"Are they letting you stay for the rest of the summer?"

Lily nodded. "They want me to answer as soon as possible."

"Go pack your bags then. Charles and I were planning on going on vacation to America next week anyway. Now you won't have to stay here alone. You can floo yourself over."

Lily was thankful that, once again, she had done all of her laundry as soon as she had arrived back from school. Her trunk had already been packed with her school clothes. All she had to do was pack some muggle clothes and the rest of her textbooks.

In less than half an hour she was standing in front of the fireplace, ready to go.

"Take care and have fun at school this year," Jessica said in an attempt to be kind. Lily smiled and stepped into the fireplace, her trunk in one hand and Kiki's cage in the other. Jessica took a handful of floo powder and flung it into the fire. Kiki hissed as Green flames enveloped them.

"The Burrow!" Lily shouted. In a whoosh they were gone.

The first thing Lily saw was Mrs. Weasley standing at the kitchen sink, with her hand clutching her chest.

"Goodness, dear. You scared me. I didn't know you were coming so soon."

Lily dusted herself off and stepped out into their living room. Kiki bolted outside as soon as Lily opened the cage door.

"I'm really sorry Mrs. Weasley. I didn't mean to come without any notice. But as soon as Aunt Jessica heard I would have a place to go for the summer, she basically kicked me out."

Mrs. Weasley laughed. "It's no trouble at all. Ginny!"

The young girl bounded down the stairs, her braided hair bouncing up and down.

"Lily!" she exclaimed. Lily opened her arms wide as Ginny came rushing over to give her a hug.

"When did you get here?"

Lily laughed. "About a minute ago." Ginny picked up one end of the trunk and together the two girls lugged it up to Ginny's room.

"There," Ginny sighed as they plopped it down against the wall. "So are you staying with us for the rest of the summer?"

"You bet."

Ginny's eyes lit up. "Sweet. Hermione will be here tomorrow, and we're picking up Harry on Sunday, whether the muggles will allow him to go or not."

"Awesome. So the whole gang's going to be here for the rest of the summer."

Ginny glanced out the window and began to smile. "You want to see something really funny?" She asked. Lily nodded.

Ginny got up and motioned for Lily to come with her. Ginny stuck her head out the window. "Oi! Fred, George, Lily's here!"

Lily had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Both boys looked up and froze for a second before bolting inside the house. Lily turned away and faced the door. She could hear them tearing up the stairs and within seconds they had burst through the door.

"LILY!" they both shouted before hurtling towards her. Ginny jumped out of the way in time, but Lily wasn't so lucky. She was thrown onto the bed with the force of the impact.

"When did you get here?" Fred asked as George, who had landed on top of her, kissed her fully on the lips.

"Oi! Let the poor girl answer my question." Fred complained, giving George a shove.

"That can wait. I haven't seen her in over a month," George growled as he snaked his hand around her waist and kissed her again. Lily smiled and wrapped her hands around his neck as he slowly sat her up.

Finally they broke away. Lily started laughing hysterically. "Maybe I should go away more often," she said through fits of giggles.

"Ha ha, very funny," George huffed before pulling her in for another kiss.

"Do you mind George? If you would care to remember, I'm her friend too, and I haven't seen her for over a month too."

Lily laughed and stood up to give Fred a hug. He picked her up and twirled her around before squeezing her as hard as he could.

"It's nice to see you too Fred," Lily said when he finally put her down. "And to answer your question, I got her about five minutes ago."

"Good. For a moment there I thought you were holding out on us."

Lily laughed and sat down on the bed next to George. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the temple.

Lily sighed happily. "It feels so good to be back here."

Fred and George exchanged a look. "Well, duh!"


	31. Chapter 31

**Here's the next chapter. Let me know what you think so I can tell how well (or not so well) I am doing at writing this story. Please and Thank You :)**

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Chapter 2

The snake eyed girl entered Lily's dream for the first time in a long time Sunday night. She was sitting on a stone table, her legs crossed, smiling dangerously at Lily.

"_Come here Lily_," the girl hissed. _"You needn't be afraid of me. I won't hurt you."_

Lily was too afraid to move. She tried to look away, but the girl's golden eyes held her captive.

"_What have you to fear? This is only a dream. I have come here to talk to you, that is all. I just want to share with you my vision."_

Lily shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. In an instant, the girl had moved from the table in front of her to right behind her. Lily could feel the girl's hot breath on her neck.

"_You have the power to be the greatest witch in history. Let me show you how to use it, to make our world better."_

Lily shivered as the girl whispered into her ear. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her instincts were screaming at her to get out.

The girls nails were digging painfully into her neck and Lily struggled to get away. She felt a sharp pain in her neck and her entire body went cold. This girl was evil. Pure evil. Lily screamed a bloodcurdling scream and wished above all else that she would wake up.

The next thing she knew, Lily was sitting upright, her entire body drenched in sweat. Ginny and Hermione were still asleep on the bed, so she knew that the scream had just been in her dream. Slowly Lily stood up and grabbed some dry clothes. She stripped off her wet clothes and put on clean underwear, a pair of shorts, and a tank top. They would be leaving for the Quidditch Stadium soon, so Lily figured it would be pointless to go back to bed.

She crept silently out of the room and sat down on the banister. It was a lot quieter to slide down than it was to walk down. When she reached the bottom of the staircase, she took a seat at the kitchen table and poured herself a glass of apple juice.

Once Lily had finished her drink she walked over to the door and quietly slipped outside. The summer night's air was warm and comforting. Lily walked to a spot in the front yard and laid down, gazing at the stars, admiring their beauty.

She hadn't noticed anyone else was up until Mr. Weasley sat down beside her a while later. He handed her a plate filled with eggs, bacon, and French toast.

"What would a teenager such as yourself be doing up this early without having to be dragged out of bed?"

Lily smiled. "I had a nightmare. I needed to come out here and calm down."

Mr. Weasley sighed and leaned back on his hands. "Do you know what I do when I have nightmares?"

Lily, with her mouth full of food, shook her head.

"I hold Molly close to me and think about how much I love her, and I think about all of my wonderful children. I find that the feeling of happiness and love that I have when I think about them can push away any fears that I might have."

Mr. Weasley was silent for a while as Lily took in what he was saying. She had to admit, she did feel better whenever she was around George.

"I'm going to go in and round up all the others. You are welcome to come if you'd like, or you can stay. It's up to you."

Lily remained seated as Mr. Weasley stood up. He held out his hand and she handed him her now empty plate. She wasn't alone for long. Hermione and Ginny came over to her and sat down beside her.

"Fred and George are getting into trouble again," Ginny informed her. "Mum found more of their Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes stuff and she's pretty upset."

Fred and George had shared their idea with Lily about opening their own joke shop the summer after her second year. Naturally, she had seen it as a great idea, but Mrs. Weasley didn't view it in the same way. Since the boys had only gotten three O.W.L.'s the previous year, she was even more upset with them. Whenever she caught sight of the sweets, she would confiscate them, despite the fact that the bys had worked so hard on them.

"Bummer."

The boys were visibly upset when they walked through the door and outside. Lily stood up and walked over to George. She slipped her hand into his and gave it a gentle squeeze. He looked over at her and smiled sadly.

The group of them were headed for a hill that Mr. Weasley said they would find their Portkey. Lily was excited at first. She had never traveled by Portkey before and wanted to experience it. As the sky began to lighten, Lily grew more and more impatient. She wanted to go to the World Cup, but wasn't thrilled about the hike to get there.

Climbing Stoatshead Hill was the worst. It was steep and Lily kept losing her footing. George was the only reason she finally managed to make it to the top.

"Now that the hike is over with, we have to actually _find_ the Portkey," Fred muttered in her ear. Lily groaned. It could be anything.

Lily spread out with the others. She raked her eyes along the ground as she walked steadily forward. In an attempt to keep her eyes on the lookout for the object, Lily failed to notice the human boy in front of her until she ran right into him.

"Gosh, I'm sorry," he said as he stooped down to help her up.

"No, no. It's my fault really. I wasn't looking where I was going."

The boy smiled. Lily had to admit, he was very handsome. He was a good foot taller than her and had wavy brown hair and soft brown eyes. "You were so focused on finding that Portkey," he laughed. Lily smiled.

"Over here Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!"

The boy looked over at the man who had shouted. "Look's like Dad's found it. I'm Cedric by the way. Cedric Diggory." Cedric stuck out his hand in a greeting. Lily shook it.

"I'm Lily Rain."

Cedric smiled. "Ah yes. I've heard about you. The Lone Slytherin. Quite a catchy name actually."

Lily frowned. She had never heard that name used in reference to her before. Cedric must have sensed her discomfort, because he looked down embarrassed.

"sorry. I didn't mean it in a bad way. I think it's really admirable of you. Not going along with whatever the crowd is doing. You're a really strong person."

Lily smiled again, but it quickly faded away when she saw the looks on Fred and George's faces. They were obviously very mad.

Amos Diggory began the process of introducing everyone. Lily quickly learned that she didn't like him very much. He was a nice enough man, but he had too much pride in Cedric. Enough that it caused him to become quite annoying.

"Must be nearly time," Mr. Weasley commented pulling the conversation away from Amos's incessant bragging. "Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos?"

"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets."

Mr. Weasley glanced around the circle. "You just need to touch the Portkey, that's all, a finger will do," he explained to the three of them that had no idea what was going on. It took a while but eventually all ten of them were crowded around the single, ratty shoe, each of them touching it.

"Three, two, one."

In an instant Lily felt herself being jerked forward. She could still feel George and Cedric on either side of her, but her feet were no longer touching the ground. She was somehow being hurtled through space itself.

It was over as soon as it started. Lily's feet were slammed down into the ground and she almost toppled over, but a pair of strong arms held her up. When she opened her eyes she saw Fred and George sprawled on the ground with the rest of the kids, which meant that…

"You alright?" Cedric asked as he stood her upright. Lily smiled and tucked a wisp of her hair behind her ear.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Oi! Lily, give us a hand," Fred grumbled. Lily laughed and extended her hands for first Fred and then George. Once George was up he wrapped his arm around Lily's waist in a very possessive manner. Lily looked at him strangely, but he only smiled at her.

The group waited patiently as Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggory got their campsite assignments. Then they all started off for the field they had been given.

"Thank goodness it's only a quarter of a mile away," Ron breathed. "I think I would die if I had to walk any further."

"Yeah," Fred whispered to George. "And lucky Diggory has a different field then us."

Unfortunately for them, Mr. Weasley insisted that no magic be used to put up their tents. Lily happened to be the only one in the group that had any idea how to pitch a tent. The Dursleys had never taken Harry camping before and Hermione wasn't much of an outdoorsy girl. Finally, after many failed attempts, Lily had coached the boys into putting the tent together.

Lily walked into the tent first. She smiled as she saw Harry and Hermione's astounded expression. On the outside the tent looked like it could barely house two people, but on the inside there was a couch, a kitchen, a bathroom, and nine hammocks hanging from the walls, which somehow, could hold them up."Unfortunately there are only nine beds, so two of us are going to have to double up. I already get the couch!" Mr. Weasley called as he spotted Fred sneaking towards it.

"Not me!" all the boys shouted at once. Lily, Ginny, and Hermione laughed.

"I don't mind sharing with George," Lily offered, "if that's alright by you."

Mr. Weasley smiled knowingly at her. "It's fine by me. Just don't tell Molly I let you."

A smile returned to George's face as they both walked over and set their small bag of clothes down on the bottom hammock in one of the groups of three. Mr. Weasley sent Harry, Ron, and Hermione to go fetch water from the pump on the other side of the field while he set the rest of them out to gather firewood.

"I don't know why we can't just use the oven," George grumbled as he carried an armful of wood back to their tent.

"Because, George, we have to be really careful about using magic around muggles. Besides, traditional camping is fun. You'll see."

They piled the wood outside of the tent and Lily arranged it into a large upside-down cone. She was about to go inside to ask Mr. Weasley for some matches when he came out.

"Oh!" he shouted in excitement. "I want to light the fire!"

"Dad," George started. "Maybe we should let Lily do it."

"Nonsense boys. Your old man can handle a little stick."

After fifteen minutes of continuous failed attempts, Mr. Weasley finally handed over the box of matches. Lily kneeled down next to him and handed the box back to him.

"Like this," she said gently. She placed her hands over his own and helped him figure out how to strike it so that it lit.

"Careful now. Getting burnt would not be a fun experience." Lily watched as Mr. Weasley brought the tiny flame over to the pile of sticks. Lily had placed some dry leaves inside the stick formation and they quickly caught fire.

"I did it!" he shouted. Lily smiled took a step backwards as Mr. Weasley rushed inside the tent to tell Fred and George of his accomplishment.

Suddenly feeling like going for a walk, Lily took off towards the field that Cedric had been headed for. She passed many families that were just starting to eat breakfast. She was thankful for the food that Mr. Weasley had given her that morning. It made her feel special that he had been so thoughtful as to bring it out to her.

Taking a detour through the woods, Lily caught her first glimpse of the stadium. It was huge! And with good reason. Thousands of witches and wizards had traveled here from all over the world to see this game. And it started later that very day!

"Hey, Lily!" A voice called. Lily looked over to her right and saw Cedric leaning against one of the trees.

"Cedric. Hey." Lily walked over to him.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?"

Lily was confused. "Should I not be?"

Cedric laughed. "No, no. That's not what I meant. I only meant that you looked attached to the Weasleys. I was just surprised to see you out here without at least one of them."

"Oh, I understand. No, I left them back at the tent. We just got our fire going and Fred and George were inside with their dad celebrating. Percy, Bill, and Charlie should be arriving soon and I heard Mr. Weasley say something about Ludo Bagman coming by for a visit. All in all, it was just too many people for me. I needed some space."

"Well you came to a good place. My dad is off talking to some of his friends from work, so I'm on my own again. It's nothing new."

"Hey. We can keep each other company for a while. At least until my stomach tells me its time to eat lunch."

Cedric laughed and took a seat on the ground. Lily joined him.

"So are you excited to start school up again soon?"

Lily's eyes lit up. "Of course! I love it at Hogwarts. It's my home. What about you? This is your last year, right?"

Cedric shook his head."Nope. I'm only a sixth year."

"Really? I thought you were older."

"My birthday is September 15th. I'm one of the older ones of my year."

"Do you have any idea about what you want to do?"

"I've been thinking about trying out for one of the national Quidditch teams. If I make it I'll probably stay on for a few years. Maybe find a nice girl in that time. I want to raise a family some day, but there's no rush. I also think it would be really cool to become an Auror. Catching bad guys and stuff."

He flashed a smile in her direction and Lily laughed. "That would definitely attract the girls."

"What about you? What are your plans?"

"Well, I'm only a fourth year, so I still have some time, but I think I want to be the next potions master at Hogwarts. After Snape retires."

"Really? Potions? I would never have pegged you for that."

"Why not?"

Cedric shrugged. "You're much to pretty to be sitting around in a dark dungeon all day brewing potions. You should be outside. I bet you'd make a smashing Auror."

Lily smiled. "I'm not half bad."

The two of them talked for a good couple of hours. Lily didn't realize how long she had been gone until she heard a loud gong sound across the fields, signaling the game was about to start.

"Goodness, is it time already?" Cedric asked looking over at the stadium. He stood up and reached down to help Lily up. "Let's get you to your seat. Do you know where it is?"

Lily nodded. "We're in the top box."

Cedric's eyes widened. "Nice. You're one lucky duck."

Lily smiled. "I sure am."


	32. Chapter 32

**This chapter was an interesting one to write. I hope you all like it. Review and let me know :) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
**

Chapter 3

George was not at all pleased when Lily showed up at the top box with Cedric with her. The moment she saw his expression she turned to Cedric and said a quick goodbye. Luckily, he caught on and gave her a quick wave before disappearing down the stairs.

"Where have you been?" George asked sourly.

"I went for a walk and met up with Cedric. We were having a really nice conversation and lost track of time."

George glowered, but said nothing. As Ludo Bagman stood up and welcomed everyone to the match George lifted his arm and wrapped it around Lily's shoulders. She sighed and leaned into him. George was being really rude and possessive lately, but Lily knew it was only because he was jealous and feeling uncertain of her feelings towards him.

She would have to do something about that, but for now, she had a Quidditch match to watch.

"And now, without any further ado, allow me to introduce…the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

Lily watched as over a hundred women with shining skin and platinum blonde hair flew into the stadium. She heard the hush in the stadium as the girls started to dance. Simultaneously, Fred, Percy, Charlie, Bill, Ron, and Harry all stood up and started walking towards the edge of their box, their eyes fixed on what Mr. Weasley had called veela.

"Harry, what are you doing?" asked a perplexed Hermione. She and Ginny were sitting in the seats down the row from Lily, Fred, and George. Hermione had her arms crossed and was staring disapprovingly at both Harry and Ron.

The music stopped playing and grudgingly all of the boys sat down again. "Honestly!" Hermione said shooting a look at Fred.

"Why didn't they affect you?" Fred asked, obviously annoyed with his twin.

George took Lily's hand in his and smiled. "No girl could ever be as beautiful as this one right here."

A collective 'aww' came from the girls a couple of seats down.

"George!" Ginny exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you. I had no idea you had it in you!"

George stuck his tongue out at his younger sister before turning his attention to the field which, currently, was filled with leprechauns.

Lily listened as Bagman introduced all of the players. There was a roar of approval as the Bulgarian seeker emerged onto the field.

"Who is that?" Lily asked George.

"That's Viktor Krum. He's the youngest national Quidditch player in the entire world, and he's bloody brilliant."

Lily watched in silence as the game began. Personally, she found Quidditch to be quite a boring sport. The only reason she even went to the games at Hogwarts was because of Fred and George.

George remained seated the entire game. Lily could tell he wanted to get up and cheer as Ireland continued to score points, but he was still too wrapped up in his jealousy to let her out of his arms.

The entire stadium gasped as the two seekers dived at the same time. They hurtled towards the ground at a breakneck pace. Krum pulled out of the dive in time, but the Irish seeker wasn't so lucky. They had to call a time out and bring the mediwizards onto the field to examine him.

"He was faking it," George mumbled. "He didn't actually see the snitch."

Ireland jumped back into the game with a renewed vigor once Lynch was up and running again. Within fifteen minutes, they had pulled ahead 130 points to 10. The game continued to get dirtier and dirtier, with fouls occurring every five minutes.

"Look at Lynch!" Harry suddenly yelled. Lily's eyes whipped over to where the Irish seeker was diving towards the ground, and this time, it was no fake.

Lily watched as the two seekers sped towards the ground for the second time that night. They grew closer and closer and suddenly Krum pulled out of the dive. Lynch smashed into the ground again and was surrounded by a hoard of angry veela.

"He's got it," Lily whispered. "Krum caught the snitch."

It took a while for everyone to realize what had happened. When they did the entire stadium erupted into applause.

"IRELAND WINS!" Bagman cried in excitement. "KRUM CATCHES THE SNITCH – BUT IRELAND WINS!"

And that was it. The match was over. Lily stood up and stretched her legs. George's arm was still wrapped around her waist. She turned towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist. When she looked up he was smiling brightly at her. Reaching up to put her hand on his face, she closed her eyes and kissed him sweetly. He pulled her closer to his chest.

"Oi, George, here you go." Fred dumped an entire bag of coins into George's hands. "Ludo was ever so kind as to give us the money he owed us."

George looked over at his brother grinning. "Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes is back on."

Lily laughed. Of course, the twins were never the type of people to give up.

* * *

The partying had gone on long into the night. Lily and George had retired to their hammock at around one in the morning. Lily was stretched out comfortably, her legs intertwined with George's. He had his arm wrapped around her waist and her head was resting on his chest. Lily had never felt so wonderful before.

She was awoken brusquely by George. He was stroking her hair and gently shaking her shoulder.

"Lily!" his voice sounded urgent. "Lily! Wake up! This is urgent!"

Lily groaned and sat up. George had a strange look in his eyes and he was holding onto her tighter than he usually did.

"What's going on?" she asked sleepily. Faintly she could hear screaming in the distance accompanied by the sound of people running.

"No time George!" Mr. Weasley was shouting. "Get outside now! Both of you! And stick together!"

Lily grabbed her jacket and her wand and followed George outside as quickly as she could.

There was a group of people on the other side of the field. They were all wearing hooded cloaks and had the appearance of having masks covering their faces. Four helpless figures were being suspended above them struggling to free themselves. _Death Eaters_. Lily was sure of it. She had heard about the evil followers of Lord Voldemort and her blood boiled to see them.

Lily watched in horror as one of the wizards sent a fireball streaming at some of the tents. The screams grew louder as more and more people emerged into the chaos.

Without thinking twice Lily rushed off in the direction of the hooded figures. She had gotten a total of five steps before George grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly back, towards the woods.

"Let me go! George, let me go!" his grip on her tightened.

"Not on your life," he growled as he dragged her towards the safety of the woods.

"Those are Death Eaters!" Lily screamed at him. She struggled to get away, but his grip was too tight. "Do you know what kind of horrid things they do to people? All in the name of Lord Voldemort! How can you stand here and prevent me from going after them? When you know how much it means to me!"

George slammed her up against a tree and stared directly into her eyes. There were tears running down his face and Lily was faintly aware that she too was crying.

"Damn it Lily, don't you get it?" he roared, shaking with emotion. "I love you! I love you with all of my heart, and with all of my soul! You running out there is only going to get you hurt and I can't bear for that to happen, because I love you!"

Lily stood there stunned for a moment. When George opened his mouth to say something else, she flung her arms around him and kissed him passionately on the lips.

George's arms wrapped around her waist and he pressed her harder against the tree, but she didn't care. All Lily could feel was his hands on her waist and in her hair. All she could smell was his warm, rich scent. All she could taste were his sweet lips on hers.

"I love you too George," Lily gasped before George kissed her again. It was pure bliss. Lily never wanted it to end. Her chest was pounding wildly and she was shaking with the overwhelming emotions that filled her heart.

"We …have to…get…out of...here!" George whispered to her in between kisses. Lily knew he was right, but she didn't want to move.

With one final kiss, the two broke away. George took Lily's hand in his and they raced off into the woods and away from the chaos that ensued behind them.

The two of them met up with Fred and Ginny shortly after.

"Where is everyone else?" Ginny asked timidly.

Fred glanced over at Lily for a split second. "I don't know Ginny. But we'll find them. Don't you worry."

The screaming had begun to die down some. Lily stopped walking and searched for the Death Eaters. They were nowhere to be found.

"They've all disappeared."

"What?" Fred asked. "Are you sure?"

Lily nodded. "Positive. Something scared them off." What that could be, Lily had no idea.

"We should head back to the camp then," George said quietly. Lily took his hand and Fred took Ginny's and the four of them began the trek back to the tent.

Charlie, Bill, and Percy were all waiting there when they arrived.

"Thank heavens," Bill said as he gave his two brothers and his sister a great big hug. "Are you guys ok?"

Fred nodded. "We're alright Bill. Just a bit shaken up and really tired. This is two nights in a row that I haven't gotten my beauty sleep."

Lily laughed despite the serious situation. Fred always knew how to lighten the mood.

It didn't last for long. Lily didn't know what possessed her to look up, but when she did, her stomach twisted into a knot. There, in the sky above the forest, was an image painted in the clouds. It was a skull with a snake slithering out of it. The Dark Mark, the mark of Lord Voldemort.

"I think I found what scared them off," Lily whispered, pointing to the symbol in the sky. Bill, Charlie, and Percy stared in horror when they saw the Dark Mark in the air, but Fred and George just stared at it curiously.

"Lord Voldemort's symbol," Lily said, answering their unspoken question. She tore her eyes away from the sky and took Ginny's hand. "Let's go inside." Both girls ducked under the flap of the tent and went over to the kitchen. Ginny sat down on her hammock and Lily turned the stove on to start up some tea.

"Do you think Harry is ok?" Ginny asked quietly, her voice quavering. Lily walked over to the girl and put her arms around her.

"I am absolutely positive that Harry will be fine. He, Ron, and Hermione had been in tighter spots than this. Heck! Harry's taken on a Basilisk. I think he can handle getting lost in the woods."

Ginny laughed. "You're right."

Lily gave Ginny another squeeze and walked back over to the teapot which was already piping hot. She poured herself a cup of tea and sat down in the hammock on the other side of the tent. As she sipped her drink, her mind wandered to what she had seen that night. Someday she would be able to do something about those kinds of people. She would make sure of it.


	33. Chapter 33

**I want to apologize profusely for this crappy chapter. I was at Hershey Park all day and am totally wiped. This just happens to be one of my least favorite parts of the book and I have no clue what to write. I have a lot of emotions to deal with at the moment, and I felt like you guys deserved something tonight, so I gave it my best shot. The next chapter will be better, I swear. So sit tight until then.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
**

Chapter 4

The ride to Kings Cross was a stressful one. Mrs. Weasley had called in two taxi drivers from London to pick them up. They were not too pleased about having to transport Ron's hyperactive owl. Pig was flying around his cage hooting shrilly the entire time.

When one of the drivers went to remove Fred's trunk from the back of the cab, the top sprung off and a firework shot out, causing the man to jump in fright and pain as Crookshanks began to climb up his leg.

Lily was soaked to the bone by the time they arrived at platform 9 ¾. It was pouring outside and it had taken a lot of effort for her to get both her trunk and her now hissing and spitting cat under cover. Kiki was also soaked to the bone and did not look thrilled about it.

A strange thought seemed to be in the minds of Bill, Charlie, and Mrs. Weasley as they all said their goodbyes. They all seemed to be really excited about an upcoming event that was to be held at Hogwarts. Lily had no clue what the Triwizard Tournament was, but the adults seemed to know a great deal about it.

Since she had already peeked, Lily didn't see any harm in diving in a bit further to see what the excitement was all about.

Apparently, this tournament had been held every five years since the thirteenth century. It had disbanded back in the 70's due to the multiple deaths that had occurred because of it. This year, the ministry of magic had decided to restart it, with added rules to protect students. One champion from Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and Hogwarts was chosen and they would each participate in three tasks. The winner received the Triwizard cup along with a cash prize of 1000 galleons.

Hogwarts was going to be the home of the tournament this year. That meant that they would be housing the students from both schools as well as hosting all three of the tasks. Lily's stomach churned with anticipation. She wasn't so sure the tournament was a good idea.

"I'm surprised at you," Charlie said to Fred and George. "I half expected you two to badger us to death about this."

Fred and George looked at each other and smiled. "We have our ways of finding out."

Lily smiled and hid her face from their view. Slowly and stealthily she hopped onto the train and went to find a compartment. She had barely gotten herself situated before Fred and George came bursting in.

"What's going on at Hogwarts this year?" they asked together.

Lily shrugged. "I have no clue."

Fred glared at her. "Don't you lie to me Rain. I know that you know what is happening. Tell us."

Lily jumped out of her seat and made a break for the door. "You will never get me alive!" she shouted. Unfortunately for her, George was faster. He grabbed her around the waist and flung her gently onto the seat. Carefully positioning himself over top of her so she couldn't escape, he turned to Fred.

"I'll get it out of her." Giving Lily a smirk, George sat down on her legs so she couldn't move them. He grabbed both of her arms in one of his hands and started to tickle her with the other.

Lily shrieked. "Stop it George! Stop, it tickles!" she tried to get loose, but George's grip was too tight.

"Come on Lily, you've got to tell me. You know you want to."

Lily bit her lip and shook her head. George stopped tickling her and motioned to his brother. Fred came over and sat down right on top of Lily's stomach.

"We'll just stay here until you fess up."

It didn't take long for Lily to crack. She motioned for the boys to get up and then explained the Triwizard Tournament to them.

When she was finished, both boys faced each other and grinned from ear to ear. "Wicked."

It was still pouring outside when the train came to a stop. Lily groaned as she stepped out with Fred and George following close behind. Kiki darted for her robes and climbed painfully up her stockings until the cat was perched comfortably on her shoulder underneath of her robe.

"Lucky cat," Lily grumbled as she trudged through the muddy ground to get to the carriages. Her attention was once again grabbed by the thestrals that were standing in front. She stopped and gave one a pat on the muzzle. It grunted and started sniffing her pockets for some source of food.

"Why do you always do that?" Fred asked curiously as the carriage they were in started moving. "There isn't anything there."

Lily gazed forward at the creatures. "Just because you can't see it doesn't mean that it's not there."

* * *

Of course, Lily had been right about the Triwizard Tournament. What she had neglected to tell the twins was the new age restrictions the Ministry had put into place to ensure the safety of all of the students.

"That is total crap!" George said angrily as he walked Lily to the entrance to the dungeons. "Fred and I'll be seventeen in April. I don't get why we can't have a shot."

Lily reached out and took his hand. "Hey, don't worry about it ok? It's better off this way. Now, I wont have to be worried sick during every task. We can sit back and watch. The both of us. Ok?"

George grunted but said nothing.

"So what do you think of Mad-Eye being the new DADA teacher?" Lily asked, changing the topic.

George's eyes lit up a bit. "That class is going to be awesome. Do you know how much that man knows? What he's experienced?"

Lily smiled as she listened to George go on about the professor, thoughts of the Triwizard Tournament gone from his mind.

When he was done talking Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a soft, sweet, kiss.

She looked up into his blue eyes. "I love you," she whispered. George brought his hand up and lightly caressed her cheek. He kissed her again and whispered, "I love you too." Lily smiled. She gave him a hug and headed down to her common room.

George grabbed her hand and she turned back to face him. He smiled at her, a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Goodnight, Love."

Lily's heart swelled. She could barely contain her happiness.

"Goodnight George."

The two parted ways and the rest of the night, Lily's stomach was filled with butterflies. Glorious, dancing butterflies.


	34. Chapter 34

**Yay! Things are finally starting to get interesting again. The power went off tonight, but luckily it came back on again :) otherwise you guys would have had to wait until tomorrow. Review please.**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Harry Potter.  
**

Chapter 5

Right from the start, Mad-Eye's class was a hit. The first day they sat down he introduced himself and launched right into a lesson about the three unforgivable curses. He demonstrated all of them on a very large spider to which, Ron was perfectly ok with. Lily, on the other hand, got an uneasy feeling when she saw the effects of these spells. She knew that her father and his followers were the reason Moody was teaching them these horrid spells.

Lily was very surprised to hear that, on one lesson in mid October, Moody would be putting the Imperius Curse on them, to teach them how to fight it.

Hermione was the only one who protested. "But – but you said it's illegal, Professor." Lily had to agree with her on that one. She didn't think it was such a good idea to be performing this spell on a group of fourth years.

"Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like. If you'd rather learn the hard way – when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely – fine by me. You're excused. Off you go."

He pointed towards the door, his magical eye still fixed on Hermione. She didn't move.

The lesson resumed. Lily watched as one by one her classmates walked to the front of the room. When they were under Moody's spell, they did outrageous things that they never would have willingly done on their own.

She sat in the back of the room and watched, her stomach churning, as Dean Thomas hopped around the room singing the national anthem, and Lavender Brown imitated a squirrel, and Neville performed some amazing gymnastics that he never would have been able to do in his wildest dreams.

"Potter," Moody growled, "You next."

Harry walked over to Moody. As he cast the spell, a look of immense relaxation appeared on Harry's face. He bent his knees like he was about to jump. But then, he stopped. Moody's eyes widened slightly, but he said nothing.

Suddenly Harry jerked forward and plowed into the desk in front of him, knocking it over. Lily jumped up out of her seat and moved to go help Harry, but Moody held up a hand to stop her.

"Now that's more like it!" he shouted. "Look at that you lot…Potter fought! He fought and he damn near beat it! We'll try again, Potter, and the rest of you pay attention – watch his eyes, that's where you'll see it - very good, Potter, very good indeed! They'll have trouble controlling you!"

Moody tried the spell on Harry four more times until he could throw the spell off completely. Moody raised his wand to try the spell again, to make sure that Harry could throw it off when Pansy Parkinson raised her hand.

"Professor? Don't you think you should try the spell on other students? To see if anyone else can throw the spell off?"

Moody lowered his wand and looked directly at Lily.

"Rain," he growled. "Up here."

Still standing, Lily walked forward to the front of the room. She faced the students and heard Moody utter the spell. She waited. Nothing happened.

"Professor?" she asked hesitantly, after a while. "Am I supposed to feel any different? Because I'm not feeling anything."

She turned to face Moody and saw his astounded expression. She knew at once that the spell hadn't worked.

"Ho – how?" he whispered. The entire class was silent, all looking back and forth from Moody to Lily. "How can it not work on you, at all?"

Lily knew the reason why. The Imperius Curse attacked and controlled the mind. With her superior ability, there was no way any witch or wizard could hope to control her. It just wasn't possible. Lily, however, did not tell her professor this.

"I don't know sir," she answered quietly. She looked back and forth from Moody to the rest of the class. No one said anything for a while. Then Moody stood up from his chair and raised his wand.

"IMPERIO!" he shouted at her. Still nothing. Moody looked outraged.

"Impossible!" He cried. "This is impossible! The curse has to affect you. It _has_ to!" Moody turned to face her. The fire in his eyes slowly disappeared. He continued to stare at her for a while. Lily's stomach sank when she saw a smile play across his face.

"Would you mind terribly, Rain, if I tried the Cruciatus Curse on you?"

"Professor!" Hermione shouted as she leapt up from her seat, "this is outrageous. Using the Imperius Curse one a student is one thing, but the Cruciatus Curse is completely different. You could really hurt her!"

Lily held up her hand to quiet Hermione. "It's alright Hermione. If it does work on me, I'm sure Professor Moody will stop right away." She looked at him and he gave a nod of assurance. The whole class leaned forward on their chairs as Moody raised his wand.

"Crucio."

The entire class let out a breath of relief when they noticed that Lily hadn't fallen to the ground screaming in pain. Professor Moody looked at her in wonder. Before he could say anything, the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. Lily grabbed her bag and darted from the room before anyone could say anything to her. She needed some time to figure out what she was going to say.

"Hey Lily." She nearly jumped out of her skin when the twins came right up next to her.

"Hey guys," she said, exhaling.

"What's got you all twisted up?" Fred asked as George slipped his hand into hers.

"Oh, Moody used the Imperius Curse on us today." The boys had already had that lesson with Moody so they would know what she was referring to.

"Ah," George said. "So what did the old coot make you do?"

"Nothing."

"Didn't you get a go?" Fred asked. "When I went up he made me dance like a ballerina. It was pretty embarrassing."

Lily smiled, but that soon faded. "No, I got to go up. But it didn't work. He couldn't put the curse on me."

Both twins stopped walking, complete shock on their faces.

"Hey, watch it!" an older Hufflepuff guy said as he swerved around them. Lily dragged the boys into moving again.

"Are you telling us that the spell didn't work on you, _at all?_" Fred hissed.

"Yeah, the Cruciatus Curse didn't work either." Lily knew she has said the wrong thing when she felt George's hand tighten.

"He – he used the Cruciatus Curse one you?"

"Only because the other one didn't work, and he said he would have stopped the spell the second I felt any pain. But I never did."

George didn't say anything. He continued to look forward. Fred, however, had a wide smile on his face.

"You are bloody amazing, you know that?"

"Fred," George said sternly. "This isn't funny. She could have been really hurt."

"Oh, come on George. It's not that big of a deal. Isn't it better to know now that it doesn't affect her, and be prepared, then have to worry about it later?"

George grunted and Lily took that as a yes. Although he was still upset that she had been in what he saw as danger, now, at least, he could see the big picture behind the whole thing.

"Hey, aren't Durmstrang and Beauxbatons coming tonight?" Lily asked, trying to bring the conversation away from herself.

"Yeah. We get out of our last class of the day a half an hour early so we can go and get ready. We're supposed to be in the Great Hall at 6 so we can welcome them around 6:30. So that gives you girls enough time to get your faces on."

Lily smiled at Fred. "You know us. We have to look good for those Durmstrang boys."

George smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Nonsense. You look beautiful just as you are. And who cares about them when you can have me?"

Lily rolled her eyes and gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading down to the dungeons for her last class of the day.

* * *

The other schools sure did arrive in style. Lily watched in awe as Beauxbatons flew in overhead in a giant carriage pulled by flying horses. The students from Durmstrang arrived on a giant ship that rose up from the Great Lake. Lily and the others were all gathered by the front entrance as both schools arrived. Dumbledore welcomed both Madame Maxime, a woman as large as Hagrid, and Igor Karkaroff, a man with small beady eyes and silver hair. Once the headmasters and headmistress had greeted each other, all of the students filed back into the Great Hall. Lily said goodbye to Fred and George and went to go sit at the Slytherin table.

Many of the tables were frantically trying to get the attention of a certain member of the Durmstrang crowd. Lily recognized the boy to be the one and only Victor Krum. She stifled a groan as he and his classmates made their way over to the Slytherin table. Draco and his goons perked up and instantly

"Do you mind if ve sit here?" came a voice from behind her. Lily looked over casually and noticed that Krum was standing right there beside her, talking to her.

"Um…sure. Go right ahead." She scooted over to give the boys some more room. Some of them went around to the other side of the table while the rest of them sat around her. As they started to remove their coats of fur, Dumbledore stood up and started his introductory speech. Lily didn't pay much attention. She was too preoccupied with the large number of boys surrounding her.

Cedric had been right when he had called her the lone Slytherin. She really didn't like anyone in her house and tended to be very unsocial whenever she was forced to be around them.

When Dumbledore was done, he took his seat. There was an instant sound of surprise as the guests looked down at their once empty plates. They were now filled with food.

"How did they do that?" one of the boys asked her. Lily turned to face him. He looked to be a little younger than the others. At least, he didn't have any facial hair like the rest.

"Magic." She said as she took a bite of the meatloaf.

The boy smiled. "My name is Lev. What's yours?"

"Lily. Lily Rain." Lily turned her attention back to her food, wishing that the night was over and she could go to bed.

"This is a really nice school," Lev commented, trying to make conversation with her. "Do you like it here?"

"Yes. I absolutely love it. Hogwarts is like home to me."

"Vat about your real home? Vy is that not like your home?"

"My mother died when I was a baby and I never knew my father. I live with my uncle who is always working, and my aunt who doesn't like me. It's natural that I wouldn't like my home."

"Oh, I see. That vould be an unpleasant place to live in. Your summers must be difficult."

Lily shrugged. "Not really. I spend the majority of it with my boyfriend and his family."

Lev smiled. "Ah, so you are taken. I was hoping that I vould get lucky."

Lily blushed and looked over at George. He was sitting with his back turned to her and was talking to Fred about something.

Lev followed her gaze. "The redhead?" he asked. She nodded.

"We've been together a year this November."

Lev raised his eyebrows. "So long? I didn't think the typical teenage relationship usually lasted that long."

"We aren't typical. He and his brother are my best friends and we have been since my first year. I trust him with everything and he trusts me too. I love him."

Just then, Dumbledore stood up to introduce the newcomers: Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman. He then began to explain the tournament and finally revealed to them how each champion would be chosen. They were to put their name in what he called "the goblet of fire." Somehow the Goblet would know which student would best represent the school and chose the champions accordingly.

Once Dumbledore was done, he bid everyone goodnight and sent them off to bed. Lily stood up and headed for the door, but was stopped by Lev's question.

"Vill I see you tomorrow morning?"

"Probably. I usually eat breakfast pretty early, but seeing as it is a Saturday, and I don't have class, we'll probably run into each other."

With that statement, Lily darted from the room. She was extremely tired and the only thing she wanted to do was lay down and sleep.


	35. Chapter 35

**Things are really heating up now that the Goblet of Fire has chosen the four champions. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think about it.**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does :)  
**

Chapter 6

Unable to fall back asleep once she awoke in the morning, Lily was one of the first ones back in the Great Hall the next morning. A few students were there already, gathered around the goblet.

Lev was sitting off in the corner, his nose buried deep in a book. Lily walked over to where he was and took a seat next to him.

"What are you reading?" she asked curiously. He turned to face her, smiling.

"It's a spell book. I was just brushing up on my basic spells. I entered this morning and want to make sure that I win if I'm the one chosen."

A loud shout echoed throughout the hall and Lily groaned. Fred, George, and Lee entered the room with excitement on their faces.

"Vat?" Lev asked curiously.

"My boyfriend. This won't end well. You'll see."

Fred and Lee walked over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione while George came over to join her.

"Do I get a congratulatory kiss?" he asked playfully. Lily scowled.

"You haven't gotten your name in there yet," she pointed out.

George smirked. "But I will. Fred, Lee, and I all took a drop of the aging potion we made. We only need to be a few months older."

Lily crossed her arms. "Do you really think a simple aging potion could outsmart the greatest wizard of the age?"

"Absolutely. It's so simple that Dumbledore would have overlooked it. This plan is foolproof."

"There's a reason he put the age line around the Goblet of Fire. You haven't learned enough to keep you safe in the tournament. I don't think anyone of us have, even if we are of age."

"Oh come on Lily, lighten up," he paused and turned around when Lee called his name. "I'll be back for that kiss later."

"He's very charming," Lev said sarcastically once George was out of earshot.

"George is usually a lot nicer. He' obsessed with getting his name in the goblet, even though he doesn't turn 17 until April. I don't understand why though."

"Getting chosen for the Tournament is a chance to prove yourself to the Wizarding world. The cash prize isn't bad either."

"Regardless, he knows that I don't want him entering. But yet he goes ahead and tries to do it anyway."

Lev smiled. "That would be boys for you. We're very stubborn most of the time."

Lily got up as Fred and George entered the ring. George let out a triumphant cry as he thought the potion had worked. The next moment, however, all three boys were thrown from the ring. The room erupted into laughter as the twins stood up and took a good look at the white beards that were growing from each of them.

George looked over and caught Lily's eye before she vanished from the room. Dumbledore had arrived and suggested to the both of them that they head up to the hospital wing to get their problem fixed. Apparently, they hadn't been the only students to use an aging potion that morning.

Not paying any attention to where she was going, it was no surprise that Lily bumped into someone on her way out.

"Sorry," she muttered as she tried to slip past, but firm hands held her in place.

"Where are you off to so quickly Lily?" She looked up and saw Cedric standing before her.

"Oh, hey Cedric. Are you entering the tournament too?"

"Of course. It sounds like just the kind of thing for me."

"Well then, I wish you luck. Goodbye."

She tried to break away from him, but he just swung her around so she was right back where she started.

"What's up? You don't sound very thrilled."

Lily looked up at his towering figure. She wasn't the tallest of girls, only reaching 5'4'', but she felt like a dwarf next to him. Yet, at this moment, it was he who seemed slightly uneasy because of her.

"This tournament, while it may look like fun and games to some of you dunderheads, is dangerous. People have died, and although the ministry says it is much safer than it was before, that doesn't mean that something can't go wrong. In fact, I guarantee that something will go wrong and someone will get hurt. This type of event is just asking for trouble. I think it's stupid to risk your life for this supposed honor."

Cedric smiled. "Ah, but what's life without a little risk?"

Lily rolled her eyes and pushed past Cedric, heading for the library. She needed to calm down some before she went to go find Fred and George.

The champions would be announced that night at the Halloween feast. Again, Lily was forced to sit at the Slytherin table. She found it a bit more enjoyable now that she had Lev to talk to, but she still wished she had Fred and George next to her. Their beards had disappeared and they were talking excitedly to Angelina, who had placed her name into the goblet earlier that morning.

As Dumbledore stood up, the hall grew quiet. Everyone but Lily was looking forward to seeing who the three champions would be. He briefly explained what he wanted the champions to do once their name had been called. There was a gasp across the room as the blue flames of the goblet suddenly turned red. A piece of parchment shot out of it and Dumbledore reached out to grab it.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, his voice echoing off of the walls, "will be Victor Krum!"

Lev joined in the applause for his schoolmate even though Lily could tell he was a bit upset about not being chosen.

A second piece of paper was shot into the air. Dumbledore cleared his throat and read that one as well. "The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!"

There was a shout of approval from the Ravenclaw table as a girl with silvery blonde hair stood up and made her way to the back room where Krum had already disappeared to.

"And finally, the Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!"

Lily's stomach sank as the entire Hufflepuff table erupted into cheers.

"Aren't you going to cheer for your classmate?" Lev asked her as he clapped along with the rest.

"No. I think this tournament isn't right. Why would I support it, in any way?"

"Excellent!" Dumbledore cried as the applause died down. "Well, now we have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real – "

Dumbledore stopped speaking, and it was very evident why. The Goblet of Fire had turned red once more and was sparking. One more piece of parchment was shot into the air. Reflexively, Dumbledore reached out and grabbed it.

"Impossible," Lily breathed as she saw what the headmaster saw. A few nearby heads turned to her in confusion, but she offered no explanation.

The hall was silent as Dumbledore cleared his throat and read the name on the piece of paper.

"Harry Potter."

Lily closed her eyes and listened as the buzz of confused and outrages chatter filled the hall. When she opened her eyes again, Harry was just passing Dumbledore on his way to the back chamber. Dumbledore was not smiling, and neither were any of the other teachers.

"I vonder how he got his name in," Lev said quietly.

Lily turned around to face the Durmstrang boy. "Only a fool would put their name in the goblet!" she spat at him. "Harry is no fool, and he wouldn't have someone deceive Dumbledore in this way."

"Vat are you suggesting?"

"Someone put Harry's name in there, knowing that he would be forced to compete."

With her anger rising, Lily knew it was time for her to leave. She got up and walked brusquely towards the door. Unfortunately she wasn't fast enough. The remaining teachers had decided that now would be a good time to let the other students go to bed. As Lily reached the door, she was caught up in a tide of Gryffindors chatting about how they thought Harry got his name into the goblet.

"Oi! Lily! How come you didn't tell us that Harry entered his name?" George asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She shrugged him off and glared at him.

"This isn't some kind of game you two. This is _serious_. I don't think you understand how dangerous this kind of thing can get. Whoever put Harry's name in that goblet, because it certainly wasn't him, wants him dead. So you can wipe that smug look off your face. Harry isn't some kind of hero because he got past Dumbledore. He is a fourteen year old boy who is going into a tournament against three other seventeen year olds that are far more advanced than he is. He is going to have to face things that many of the teachers here haven't even faced before. And chances are, whoever is behind all this, is going to get their wish."

The twins were shocked. Lily rolled her eyes at them and walked away, too angry to hear their response, if they even had one.

She headed straight down to the common room, but stopped when she reached the potions classroom. Professor Snape would still be upstairs with the other teachers and the champions, but they shouldn't be too much longer.

Sure enough, within the next ten minutes, Snape came storming in, fury on his face.

"Miss Rain," he said, recovering some of his composure. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to ask you something. What are the rules for the first task and when is it?"

Snape arched his eyebrows. "What would you be needing this information for?" he asked suspiciously.

"You know as well as I do that Harry has no hope for getting out this alive by himself. He just doesn't know enough. I am still under the presumption that you want to keep him safe, correct?"

"Correct," Snape growled. "The first task is designed to test their courage. It is on the twenty-fourth of November and they are only allowed the use of their wands."

Lily frowned. She knew the tasks would be tough, but still, how was Harry going to be able to get out of this?

"Thank you sir. That will be all." She left the room before he could ask her anything. The information that Snape had given her hadn't been very helpful. All she knew now was that she had less than a month to figure out what the task was. In the grand scheme of things, that wasn't much time at all.

Lily knew that she wouldn't be able to figure anything out in the state she was in. her best thinking came when she was calm, which definitely wasn't at that moment. Figuring she wouldn't be able to sleep very well, but knowing that there wasn't anything else she could do at the present time, Lily changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. She had a lot of work ahead of her.


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

Chapter 7

Lily's temper only rose more as the days passed by. It seemed like any tiny thing would set her off. She distanced herself from both Fred and George, primarily because they continued to act like Harry was some kind of hero. She noticed that Harry and Ron weren't talking but so far, Lily hadn't gotten a chance to find out why.

On her way down to potions class one Friday in mid November, Lily was stopped by Draco, who was standing outside of the classroom with a bunch of the other Slytherins in the class.

"Hey, Lily, have a pin." She glanced at his chest and noticed a large badge with glowing red letters that said: Support Cedric Diggory – The Real Hogwarts Champion.

As she watched, the letters changed to reveal the message: Potter Stinks.

"Real mature Draco," she muttered as she pushed him aside.

"Aww, come on Lily, where's your school spirit?"

Lily spun around, fury in her eyes. "People _die_ in this tournament Draco. What part of that don't you get? I will be showing NO school spirit for this, for either Harry or Cedric, because that would be showing support for this ridiculous tradition. So back off."

Lily turned her back on the dumbstruck teen and entered the classroom. She threw her books down in a huff and waited for class to start.

She turned her attention to the classroom door as shouts began to rise from outside it. Slowly she got up and went to go see what was going on.

Snape was standing outside with a furious Harry and Ron. Draco was looking smugly at her and Lily knew instantly what was going on. She didn't need to see the boiled-faced Goyle or the bucked-toothed Hermione to confirm her first guess.

"Hospital wing, Goyle," Snape said calmly.

Ron's face grew redder. "Malfoy got Hermione!" he shouted. "Look!"

Hermione, who was desperately trying to cover up her elongated front teeth, was forced to show the potions master what had happened.

Snape looked coldly at the girl. "I see no difference."

That was it for Lily. She strode out of the room and put her arm around Hermione. "Don't bother with him. He's a right fowl git," she whispered. Hermione nodded, trying hard not to cry.

Lily looked up at Professor Snape, daggers in her eyes. She locked eyes with him and channeled all of her anger towards him. He held her gaze, but Lily could see that she was having an effect on him. Sweat was beginning to form on his brow and his arms were shaking with the strain. Lily knew she could knock him over, very easily, but she held back. She didn't want to draw any attention to herself.

"I am going to take Hermione to the hospital wing to get her teeth fixed," Lily said slowly, her voice cool and collected. "Then I will be back for class."

Snape finally had to look away. "Very well," he murmured as he spun around and strode into the classroom. The rest of the Slytherins followed quickly behind him. Lily stared down any of them who dared look at her. Once they were all gone the girls headed up to the fourth floor.

"Thank you Lily," Hermione mumbled through her teeth as they stood outside the hospital wing door. "You didn't have to do that."

Lily smiled. "That's what friends are for. I should head back to potions now, before Snape sends out a search party for me."

Hermione laughed. "Good luck."

Lily waved goodbye to her friend as she descended the stairs back to the potions classroom. When she entered the room, Snape was still lecturing the class about antidotes, which is what they would be preparing that day. He stopped talking and stared her down. Lily met his gaze and refused to be the one to look way first.

After a long pause, Snape looked away and began teaching again. Lily pulled out her notebook and began taking notes.

"Antidotes!" Snape said after an hour of the class had passed by. "You should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then, we will be selecting someone on who to test one…"

Snape looked over at Harry who was sitting by himself. Ron had deserted him to join Dean and Seamus and Hermione was still up in the hospital wing.

A loud knock on the door caught Snape's attention. It slowly opened to reveal Colin Creevey.

"Yes?" Snape asked, slightly annoyed.

"Please sir, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter upstairs.

Snape's eyes narrowed. "Potter has another hour of potions to complete. He will come upstairs when this class is complete."

Colin turned a bright pink.

"Sir – sir, Mr. Bagman wants him. All the champions have got to go. I think they want to take photographs..."

"Very well. Very well. Potter," Snape growled, "Leave your things here, I want you back down here later to test your antidote."

Lily almost laughed out loud at Colin's next statement.

"Please, sir – he's got to take his things with him. All the champions – "

"Very well! Potter – take your bag and get out of my sight!"

Harry grabbed his stuff and bolted for the door. Lily turned her attention back to Professor Snape when Harry had closed the door behind him. He was looking directly at her, his eyes burning. Just to aggravate him more, Lily met his eyes and smirked. Oh, what a good day this was turning out to be.

Unfortunately, her good feeling didn't last. The first task was approaching faster and faster. By mid November, Lily was going into panic mode. She still hadn't been able to figure out what the task would be and the rumors flying around about Harry were causing her temper to rise again.

She finally lost it one day in Transfiguration class. Lily had just successfully transfigured her porcupine into a pincushion, before Hermione did, when she heard Pansy Parkinson talking about Rita Skeeter's newest article.

"Stunningly pretty? Her?" Pansy shrieked in reference to Hermione. "What was she judged against – a chipmunk?"

Lily's anger boiled as she watched Hermione whispering furiously to Harry to ignore the Slytherin girl. That was the last straw for Lily.

"Shut up Pansy!" Lily shouted, allowing her anger to flow. "No one wants to hear what you and your conceited self have to say. First of all, Hermione is very pretty. Much prettier than you are. And secondly, only a fool would believe anything that Skeeter woman says. She will twist your words around any which way she wants in order to get a story out. So either, you are a fool, which wouldn't surprise me, or you're being an outright bitch!"

Pansy was speechless. Lily stood up quickly from her seat and walked to the front of the room.

"Here's my assignment," she huffed, handing a shocked Professor McGonagall her pincushion.

"Miss Rain," Professor McGonagall said, trying to recover from the outburst, "That was totally – "

She was cut off by Pansy, who was now standing up, her face scrunched up in anger.

"You think you're so much better than the rest of us!" she taunted. "But some day, Rain, some day you'll get what's coming to you. And it will be sooner than you think!"

Lily rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to McGonagall. "Uncalled for? I don't think it was. I've been saying since the start of this year that this tournament was a bad idea. But no one listens to what I have to say. You all think it's some kind of game. A source of entertainment for the whole school and its guests. But I guarantee that some way or another you will see things my way. At some point something will go un-according to plan and someone is going to get hurt. The first task is only two weeks away, and I know for a fact that the champions have no idea what they're facing…"

Lily trailed off as she took in what Pansy had said. It reminded her of a conversation Charlie had with Ginny as they boarded the Hogwarts Express two months ago.

"_I might be seeing you all sooner than you think."_

"Of course," Lily murmured. "Why didn't I see it before?" She turned to professor McGonagall and said, still in a daze. "I have to go to the library."

Without waiting for a response, grabbed her stuff and ran towards the door.

Charlie worked in Romania, studying _Dragons_. That's what the first task was. Dragons. She didn't know what species would be used or what exactly the champions would have to do, but at least she was getting somewhere.

* * *

The next morning, Lily rushed around the castle, trying to find Harry. She found him and Hermione in the library, pouring over books about dragons.

"Oh," she said quietly. "You already know then?"

Hermione looked up surprised. "You know what the first task is too?"

Lily nodded. "I figured it out yesterday. But all I know is dragons are involved."

"We know a bit more. There are four dragons, the Hungarian Horntail, Chinese Fireball, Common Welsh Green, and the Sweedish Short-Snout."

Harry explained quietly the events of the previous night. Lily frowned and started trying to piece together all of the information.

"Is there anything Charlie might have said that would help us out a bit?"

Harry thought about it for a moment. "He did say something about all of the dragons being nesting mothers."

Lily's face paled.

"What is it?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"They're going to make you get one of the eggs," Lily whispered hoarsely. "That has to be it."

She stood up and started pacing back and forth.

"Sirius said that a simple spell could be used to beat them, but we have no clue what it could be."

Hermione frowned and looked at the door. Victor Krum had appeared. He glanced over at the three of them and went to sit at another table.

"Oh no, he's back again! Why can't he read on his stupid ship?" Lily gathered her things and followed Harry and Hermione out of the library. They headed up to the common room so she decided to go outside for a bit of fresh air.

That turned out to be a mistake. The moment she walked outside she was ambushed by Cedric and his other sixth year friends.

"Hey there Lily. I haven't seen you in a while."

Lily rolled her eyes and tried to push past them. "Leave me alone Cedric."

"Wait a second. What's wrong with you?"

Lily glared at the boy. "You know," she said turning to face him. "I am getting sick and tired of everyone asking me that question. You and Fred and George and everyone else. I have made it very clear what my feelings are about this tournament, yet you still ask why I'm not being supportive of you or Harry. Stop acting like such a hot shot, because you aren't."

Ste started to walk away, but Cedric followed her.

"Come on, you can't stay mad at me forever. Look, it's a great honor to be chosen for this. Harry and I get to represent our school in the greatest tournament in history. Cant you at least show some support for us?"

Lily's gaze hardened. "No. Because to me, this is not an honor. This is just stupidity and self-centeredness. I will not support you because your reason for entering this tournament was for fun. It is a game to you. Harry, on the other hand, didn't submit his name. Someone else did. I won't support him because that would mean supporting the idea of the tournament, and I will not do that. I'm not mad at Harry because he didn't have a choice. You, on the other hand did. I made it clear to you how I felt before you entered your name so don't you expect me to be all buddy buddy with you. That's what they are for."

Cedric looked at her with hurt in his eyes, but Lily didn't care. She was too angry at everyone to care. This tournament needed to end soon or she feared she would lose her sanity.

* * *

**Wow. I didn't know Lily had it in her to be so mean to people. The first task is up next so hang in there. Things are going to get interesting. :) Oh, and don't forget to review.**


	37. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. not to me.**

Chapter 8

The morning of November the 24th was one of excitement and anxiety for most. As Lily passed through the halls she noticed the volume level was higher than normal. You could almost reach out and touch the climbing emotions.

Classes were to end at noon that day to give students enough time to make it down to the dragons' enclosure. For the first time since the end of October, Lily sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Well, look who's finally decided to join us" Fred said, scooting over to make some room for her. He was smiling and there was no trace of annoyance in his voice.

Lily rolled her eyes and turned to face George. He didn't look so happy. Lily's heart leapt as George stood up and faced her.

"Can we go talk somewhere?" he asked her quietly.

"Sure."

George took her hand and the two of them walked outside and found a secluded spot behind one of the large trees in the courtyard.

"Does this mean we are talking again?" George asked.

Lily shrugged as her stomach began to churn. "I don't know. It depends on whether or not you're going to listen to what I have to say."

George crossed his arms. "I did listen, but I think you're overreacting about this whole thing. They have wizards on standby if any of the champions need help. It's perfectly safe."

"Perfectly safe? How much use do you think those wizards will be in the split second between the time the dragon opens its mouth to the time Harry, or Cedric, or Fleur, or Krum gets burnt to a crisp?"

Something stirred in George's eyes, but it wasn't the fear or worry Lily had been hoping for. He was excited to hear about the dragons.

"You sicken me," Lily spat at him. "All you care about is the entertainment. You don't care that one of them might not be coming back up to the castle tonight. As long as you get your fix, you don care."

Lily spun around and headed back up towards the castle.

"Lily, wait! You know that's not true!"

"Save it George. Until you hear, really hear what I have been trying to say for two months now, I don't want to talk to you. Stay away from me."

Lily walked away from him, and the tears started to fall. More than anything she wanted to turn around and wrap her arms around him, but her damn stubbornness and pride wouldn't let her.

Instead, Lily headed down to the stadium. Harry and the other champions had been brought down already. There were even a few students that were already sitting down in the stands.

Lily spotted Hermione sitting down, her eyes fixed on the tent where the champions must be.

"Hey Hermione." The girl looked up and smiled nervously.

Neither girl said anything as the stadium slowly started to fill up. Finally, at around one o'clock, the first dragon was released. There were gasps of horror and excitement as the students that did not already know about the dragons discovered them for the first time.

Fred and George entered the stadium. George glanced over at her and walked the opposite way. Hermione must have noticed her longing expression, because she asked, "Did the two of you break up?"

Lily shook her head. "No, we're just having an argument."

At that moment, the stadium erupted into cheers as Cedric made his way into the stadium. Lily instantly dove into the dragon's mind to see just how much danger Cedric was in.

Lily could feel the blood leaving her face. The Swedish Short-Snout was enraged. She had been given a nest of eggs and fully believed that they were her own children. She didn't notice that one of the eggs, the golden one, was a fake. In her eyes, Cedric was an intruder out to steal her children. And she would stop at nothing to get rid of him.

Lily's quick thinking was probably the only thing that kept the dragon from launching itself forward and gobbling up Cedric right then and there. She wrapped her own mind around the dragon's and started weaving her own picture in front of its eyes.

Cedric had transfigured a nearby boulder into a Labrador retriever. The dragon was not buying it. She knew that Cedric was the real threat. It took a lot of mental power from Lily to make the dog look five times as big as it really was so that the dragon would go for the dog instead of Cedric.

He had almost reached the egg when Lily's concentration slipped. Hermione had nudged her and said something to her, and for a split second, her control slipped. It was enough for the dragon to realize what was going on. She roared and spit a stream of fire at Cedric who, at that moment, had the egg clutched in his arms. He got away, but Lily could see the smoke coming off of his clothes.

"One down, three to go. Miss Delacour if you please!"

Lily gasped as she pulled her mind back into her own body. Hermione glanced at her in confusion, but soon turned her attention to the Welsh Green that was twitching its tail back and forth. Lily dove in again. The dragon disliked the noise very much and was becoming more and more on edge.

As soon as Fleur entered the ring, the dragon roared. Lily adjusted her hold on the dragon and tried desperately to keep it from torching the girl.

Fleur sent some kind of spell at the dragon, but it only bounced off of the hard scales. Unable to let loose a stream of fire, the dragon tried to fling Fleur aside with her tail. The French girl managed to dodge the blows that came her way. She raised her wand and tried again. this time, the spell hit its target. Lily could feel the dragon getting drowsy. It let out a huge breath, which unfortunately resulted in Fleur's dress catching on fire.

She quickly put it out and walked forward to gather her prize. Lily returned once again to her own body. Hermione was staring at her with great concern.

"Are you alright Lily? You seem really out of it."

"I think I need to go back up to the castle," she answered as she stood up. Slowly, she made her way out of the stadium and down to the tent where the final two champions were waiting. She secured herself a spot in a nearby tree that was out of sight of the students of the stadium. She entered the mind of the Chinese Fireball as Krum entered. Krum was lightning fast. He shot a curse at the dragon that hit it squarely in the eyes. The dragon roared in pain as it stumbled blindly around. Twice, Lily had to prevent it from stomping on Krum and killing him.

Finally, he reached the egg and his turn was pronounced over. Lily let out a sigh, knowing that she only had one left. The Hungarian Horntail. She hoped that she had enough strength left in her to keep Harry safe too.

If Lily thought the other three dragons were bad, the Horntail was an outright monster. She was very protective of her eggs and would have burnt Harry to a crisp as soon as she saw him if Lily hadn't been there in her mind, holding her back.

Lily only let out a sigh of relief when Harry's broomstick appeared from behind him. She watched through the dragon's eyes as Harry flew around, looking for a window to dart in and get the egg.

She could feel the dragon's irritation and Lily coaxed it to open up its wings and fly after Harry. In a split second, Harry dove. The Horntail lost sight of him and Harry grabbed the egg and flew to safety.

Lily released her hold on the dragon as the wizards surrounded her to subdue her. Her head was pounding with exhaustion, but it didn't matter. The four champions had survived.

In an instant her vision started to grow fuzzy. There was a loud roaring in her ears and she felt herself falling before everything went black.

* * *

"What do you think happened?" a voice asked softly.

"I don't know. Apparently Snape found her lying underneath a tree when the task was over."

"What was she doing over there?"

"She was sitting with me when the task started, but the whole time she was acting like she wasn't feeling well. After Fleur went she said she was going back up to the castle." That was Hermione. Lily was starting to get her bearings back, and she was awake enough to know that.

"Guys. I think she's waking up."

Lily groaned and sat up. Her head was killing her and it took her a good five minutes to be able to see with the bright lighting in the room. She was in the hospital wing.

"Ah, Miss Rain. Glad to see that you are awake. All of you, out now. I need to speak to her alone."

No one dared argue with Professor Snape, though Fred and George looked like they were about to. When they were gone, Snape sat down on the bed next to her and folded his hands.

"What exactly were you doing?" he asked crossly.

"The dragons were worse than anyone could have expected. They would have killed all four of the champions in no time flat if I hadn't done it."

Snape's eyes widened. "You were inside their minds?"

Lily nodded. "I had to."

Snape glared at her. "You do realize that you could have killed yourself, don't you?"

Lily was shocked. Killed herself? She didn't know that was possible.

Snape sighed. "Your abilities, while very useful indeed, are not limitless. A marathon runner, while able to run for miles, still has to know when enough is enough. If you had tried to hold onto that horntail for a minute more, you very well could have outdone yourself and died. You would have died today had I not been there to slow your decent."

Lily looked down at the ground. She hadn't ever considered that there was a possibility that she would be limited. She had always assumed that there was no end to what she could do.

"Madame Pomfrey said you could go as soon as you woke up," Snape said after a moment of silence. "You will probably feel really exhausted for a while. I would recommend limiting your use of your mental abilities until you have fully recovered. Your physical strength will return within the next week, but your mental strength may take as long as 7 to 8 months to come back."

Lily nodded her head and got up. Her head was pounding and all she wanted to do was go back to sleep, but first she had to go find George and apologize. She had been acting foolishly for the past month and needed to tell him that she had been wrong to treat him the way she had.

It didn't take her long to find George. He was waiting for her in a classroom down the hall a ways.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked gently as he pulled her into a warm embrace.

"I've been better. Listen, George, I wanted to say that I'm sorry. Even though you and I view this tournament differently, I shouldn't have been mad at you because of that. It was wrong of me."

She was looking down at the floor as she said this, too afraid to look him in the eyes. He placed his hand under her chin and tilted her face up so their eyes met.

"I accept your apology, and I want to say that I am sorry for not listening to you about the tournament. I heard what you did, and I know now just how dangerous this really is."

"How did you know about me and the dragons?"

George smiled and pulled out a rubber ear attached to a piece of string.

"Extendable Ears. Fred and I made them. They work quite well for eavesdropping."

Lily giggled. Of course. She should have expected something like that.

"So," George asked hesitantly. "Does this mean that we're done fighting?"

Lily smiled. "Yes George. We are."

George leaned down and placed a kiss on her mouth.

"I missed you," Lily whispered, tears falling from her eyes. George reached down and wiped them away.

"I missed you too."

The pair kissed again, glad to finally be back in each other's arms.

"Lily," George said as they broke apart.

"Yes George?"

He smiled and pulled a bouquet of flowers from behind his back. "Happy one year anniversary."

* * *

**Alright...If I'm not mistaken, the Yule Ball is up next. :) one of my favorite parts. Review and let me know how I'm doing :)**


	38. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling...and sadly I am not her**

Chapter 9

"So," George said one afternoon in early December, "You're going to the Yule Ball with me, right?"

"George!" Hermione scolded. "That is not the way to ask your girlfriend to a ball!"

Lily smiled. "It's alright Hermione. We all know how unromantic George is. I'm surprised that he actually remembered to ask me at all."

George stuck his tongue out at Lily and then stood up. He cleared his throat and climbed onto the table.

"George!" Lily hissed, unsure what he was about to do. "George, get down!"

"Excuse me everyone!" George called as he waved his hands in the air to get everyone's attention. The hall slowly grew quiet, their attention on George.

"Thank you. I have something very important to say." He climbed down from the table and took Lily's hand. "Lily Jocelyn Rain, will you do me the honor of going to the Yule Ball with me?"

Lily's face was bright red. Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't that.

George looked up at her beaming. The hall was silent, waiting for her response.

"Oh alright."

Loud cheers erupted from three of the four tables. Lily was smiling as George picked her up and twirled her around. There was a collective 'aww' from the Beauxbatons girls as George pulled her into a kiss.

"I swear, you are going to pay for that," Lily growled in his ear. George just smiled bigger.

"You asked for it."

* * *

All Lily could think about for the rest of the month was the Yule Ball. That was the only thought on pretty much every girl's mind. Finally the day arrived. Lavender, Lily, Hermione, Ginny, Parvati, Padma, Angelina, Katie, and Alicia all threw the Gryffindor boys out of the dormitory at 5 o'clock so they could get dressed and fix their hair and do their makeup. The boys protested heavily against this, but they were overruled.

Lily, Hermione, and Ginny went into the third year's dormitory while the other girls split up and got ready in the other rooms.

The first thing on her agenda was her hair. Lily had learned from watching her aunt that her hair could be styled in almost any was with a simple spell from her wand. Hermione and Ginny watched as she wrapped strand after strand of her hair around her wand and muttered the charm. In twenty minutes, her normally straight hair was perfectly curled.

"Ooh!" Hermione squealed when she caught sight of Lily's hair. "It's so pretty!"

Lily turned to look at Hermione and her breath caught in her chest. She had already completed her hair and it was gorgeous. Most of it had been twisted up into an elegant knot on the side of her head. A single long curl fell from the knot and reached all the way down to her shoulder. Framing her face were two delicate curls that bounced every time she moved her head.

"Hermione, your hair is gorgeous!"

Hermione blushed and examined herself in the mirror again. "Yes, I suppose it is quite nice."

Lily took a comb and carefully separated the top layer of her hair. Using her wand again, Lily fastened the top part up so that it looked like a large tangle of curls. Once that was secure she took the strands of hair left framing her face and made sure they were perfectly curled as well.

The last thing she had to add were a dozen or so small, purple and blue flowers. She placed them strategically at the base of the tangle of curls. Once she was done, she examined it in the mirror.

"Very pretty Lily," Ginny said. The younger girl was having a bit of trouble with her hair. Lily walked over and ran a brush through it, smoothing it out and making it shine. She then took a small strand of her hair and started to braid it. Ginny was beaming once Lily had finished.

"Oh, thank you Lily! It's beautiful."

It took the girls another hour to do their makeup properly. The thing with makeup is, it's relatively easy to put on, and it doesn't take very long. But once it's finished, the girl will look at it and decide that they don't like it, so the process starts all over again.

At 7:30 the girls finally slipped into their dresses. Lily's was a green gown. The under layer was a lighter green while the top layer was a deeper color. Around the middle of the dress were small vines with little purple and blue flowers, similar to the ones in her hair. The dress had a single strap that wrapped around her neck, like that of most bikini's. She had a silver shawl to wrap around her shoulders if she got cold, but Lily figured she wouldn't need it.

The last thing to go on was her shoes. Small, silver heels with a floral pattern like that of her dress. When she was ready, Lily looked over at the other two girls. They had also just finished up and were both beaming at her.

"Ready?" she asked excitedly. The other two nodded.

All nine girls met in the hallway just outside of the common room staircase. The boys had finally been allowed back in and were waiting, quite impatiently, downstairs.

"Who's going first?" Alicia whispered. Lily smiled and pushed her forward. She glared playfully at lIly before walking down the stairs to join Lee.

Next up was Katie. Lily wished more than anything that she could see the reaction on the boy's faces as one by one the girls made their way down.

Finally, only Lily and Hermione were left. Lily leaned over and gave her friend a hug.

"I'll see you down there," she whispered. Hermione gave her a anxious smile as Lily started her descent.

Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus, Lee, Fred, and Neville, were all standing with their dates. George was off to the side, anxiously looking for any sight of her. His mouth dropped when he saw her. Lily blushed as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her lightly.

"You look beautiful," he whispered.

"Aww," the girls said together. Lily laughed and turned to smile at them. She had to hold back another giggle as Angelina elbowed Fred in the side and glared at him.

"You don't look so bad yourself."

"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked curiously.

"She's still getting ready," Ginny answered smoothly. Ron looked at his sister in annoyance, but didn't press the subject.

"Shall we head down?" Angelina asked as she held out her arm for Fred.

Lily placed her hand on George's arm as the group of them headed down to the Great Hall.

A large group of students were standing outside of the Great Hall. Lily and George joined the group and waited patiently for the doors to be opened. Most of the eyes in the room turned towards the frnt doors when they opened. Lily smiled at Hermione who was standing at the front of the group next to Viktor Krum.

"Is that Hermione?" George asked. Lily stomped on his foot and glared at him.

"Shh!" she hissed. "It's supposed to be a surprise."

The doors opened and Lily squeezed George's hand. They walked in together and sat down at a small table with Fred and Angelina.

"Oh Lily, you look so pretty!" Angelina sighed. Lily smiled.

"So do you Angelina."

"Does anyone know how to work this?" Fred asked irritated, referring to his empty plate. Lily laughed and looked around the room. All of the professors had their food already, and so did the champions and their dates, who were all sitting at the front of the room.

Lily glanced at the menu. "I really think I want the chicken tonight."

Almost instantly, a meal, complete with chicken, appeared on her plate. Fred and George stared at her in shock.

Lily shrugged and began to eat. The other three soon placed their orders and were eating as well.

In the hour or so that they had to eat and socialize, Lily grew to really like Angelina. The girl was funny and really easy to get along with. They were soon joking and laughing loudly, drawing the attention of many around them.

As the feasting came to an end, the Weird Sisters came on stage and picked up their instruments. All attention turned to the champion's table. Lily watched as the four couples started to dance. The teachers soon joined in on the dance. Lily jumped up from her seat and pulled George onto the dance floor.

"Someone's a bit excited," George remarked as he placed his hand on her waist. Lily had to admit, George was an excellent dancer.

The pair whirled around the dance floor for quite a few songs. By ten o'clock, Lily was starting to feel strained. Her grip on George tightened and she was struggling not to fall over.

"Do you want to take a break?" George asked her. She nodded.

Slowly, and letting her use him for support, George led her out into the courtyard. Professor Flitwick had enchanted the place so that it remained warm, despite the cold December air outside. The air there was still much cooler than that of inside the Great Hall.

George sat her down on one of the benches and put his arm around her. Lily leaned into his chest.

"Why didn't you tell me you were tired?" he asked her quietly. Lily was panting now as she tried to regain her breath. Her head was pounding and her vision kept going in and out of focus.

"You…were having…so much fun."

George smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "How much fun do you think I would have if you collapsed from exhaustion?"

"Not very much."

"Exactly."

The two sat in silence for a while, just the two of them. After Lily had regained her breath, she stood up, pulling George with her.

"What – " he started to ask, but Lily motioned for him to be quiet. She led him down the hall and into a deserted classroom.

Lily looked up into his eyes and projected to him exactly what she wanted at that moment, so he wouldn't get the wrong idea. In the darkness, Lily saw him smile.

"I love you," he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her. She sighed into the kiss and pulled him closer to her. George tilted his head and deepened the kiss. One of his arms snaked around her waist and pulled her even closer as the other one played with her curls.

Lily's heart was pounding and she trembled with emotion. She swore she would have fainted had it not been for George's arm holding her up.

George broke the kiss and looked at her with love in his eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked. "I don't want you to hurt yourself. If this is too much, we can stop."

"No George," Lily whispered. "I'm alright." As if to prove her point, she pulled him closer and kissed him with as much passion as she had inside of her.

That definitely got George's attention. He pushed her roughly up against the wall and she sighed with happiness. He hadn't kissed her like this since the Quidditch World Cup, when they had first admitted their love for each other.

"I love you George," She murmured through kisses.

"I love you too Lily."

In her weakened state, it soon became too much for Lily to handle. George sensed this and slowly toned down on the kissing.

"Let's go back up to the common room. You can change into some more comfortable clothes and we can hang out there. This is getting to be too much of a strain on you."

Lily nodded her head and walked with George up to the seventh floor. After three flights of stairs Lily was so exhausted that George had to pick her up and carry her the rest of the day.

Lily collapsed onto the couch and had no energy to get up again. George ran up to his room and grabbed a t shirt and a pair of sweats for her to change into. He turned away as she struggled to get into her clothes. When she was dressed, he took her dress and laid it on Hermione's bed before returning to join her.

"Feeling any better, Love?" he asked her. Lily blushed.

"A little. My head still hurts a lot though." George leaned over and kissed it lightly.

The two stretched out on the couch, George with his arms wrapped around Lily, and her with her head on his chest.

"Happy Christmas George," Lily murmured as she felt sleep start to overcome her.

"Happy Christmas Lily, and Happy Birthday as well."

Lily smiled. She had insisted that George not celebrate her birthday that year, since the Yule Ball would be held the day after. He had grudgingly agreed.

Mustering all the strength she had left, Lily pulled herself up so she was looking straight into George's eyes.

She placed her hand gently on his cheek and kissed him sweetly. "I love you George Weasley," she said firmly as she looked him in the eyes. George reached up and wrapped a curl around his finger.

"I love you Lily Rain."

They kissed again and Lily settled back down into his arms. She felt him kiss her hair lightly as she slowly drifted off into sleep.

* * *

**Aww...how cute :) Let me know what you think, pretty please! :)**


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: Just so you guys know, I did go back and fix the scene between Snape and Lily here. You were all right. He would never have told her his whole story like that. Thanks for pointing it out! Hopefully this is a bit closer to his character. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

Chapter 10

The second task was approaching quickly. Over the next few weeks, Lily spent her time in class, doing homework, and sleeping. It was all she had enough energy for. Fred and George were very supportive and helped her out whenever they could.

Ever since the 'accident' Professor Snape had moved her back to making potions during her extra lessons with him. Lily enjoyed this because she could actually do a good job. Her other classes were a different story.

Charms definitely took a turn for the worse. She had never really grasped the concept of charming things before. It required immense amounts of concentration, and Lily's mind tended to wander in a room full of other students. Now that she could barely keep her focus on one thing for more than a minute or two, she could barely do anything right in that class.

Her grades in Transfiguration and DADA had also suffered, but not as much as Charms. She was still able to complete her transformations, but it took her much longer than it once had, and it left her completely exhausted. Anything that required her to concentrate really hard on something left her out of breath and physically strained.

Despite this obstacle, Lily pressed on. As the days went by she slowly felt her strength returning. On the morning of the second task, Lily, accompanied by Fred and George, went down to the Great Lake. They hadn't been able to find Harry, Ron, or Hermione at breakfast, so they assumed that the trio had already come down earlier.

"I still don't see them," Lily murmured as the three took their seats. Fred and George glanced around, but couldn't spot them either.

"I wonder what McGonagall wanted with them anyway," George muttered. Lily opened her mouth to ask what he was talking about, but at that moment she caught sight of Harry, sprinting over to the judges table. Lily remained seated as the crowd began to cheer.

"Come on Lily," Fred said as he and George sat down again. "Show some support for Harry."

"We've been over this Fred. I will consent to being at peace with the both of you, but I will not support this competition."

Fred rolled his eyes and gave her a playful shove as Bagman stood up to begin the announcements.

"Well, our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three then. One…two…three!"

Lily watched as Cedric, Fleur, and Krum took a running start and dove into the water. Harry waded out slower and seemed to just be standing in the water, waiting for something.

"Come on Harry," Lily muttered, wishing more than anything that she could reach into his mind and see what he was going to do. "You can do it."

Her heartbeat spiked as he began to shake and claw at his neck. Suddenly, he flung himself into the lake and disappeared under the black waters.

All there was left to do was wait. Lily leaned against George's shoulder and the three began to talk about some new ideas the twins had for the joke shop. Every once in a while their eyes would flicker over to the surface, looking for any sign of the champions.

Lily was really starting to get worried as the minute hand drew closer and closer to 10:30. The stadium erupted into cheers as Fleur surfaced, but the noise soon died down as people realized she had come back empty handed. Lily watched with her breath held as the clock ticked past the allotted one hour.

Cedric Diggory was next up. He had only been a minute outside of the hour, but even that was enough to get Lily shaking with anxiety. She watched as Cedric paddled towards the shore with Cho Chang in his arms.

"Ron and Hermione are down there," Lily whispered as the color drained from her face.

"How do you know?" Fred asked her.

"They aren't up here. Think about it. Hermione was Krum's date to the Yule Ball wasn't she? And Ron and Harry are best mates. They must have been what the champions went to go get."

"Nice to know that little Ronnykins means so much to Harry," George said teasingly. Lily smiled and tried to relax herself as Krum emerged.

Try as she might, Lily couldn't hold back her shout of triumph as Harry surfaced with not just Ron, but Fleur's little sister as well.

It took the judges a while to tally the final scores. Once that was complete, Lily was surprised to see that Cedric and Harry were tied for first place.

"That thick head," Lily said with relief as she walked back to the castle. "He just had to make sure everyone got out alright.

George smiled. "It won him second place in the end didn't it?"

* * *

Lily had begun to notice that Snape was not his normal self over the next few weeks. He had always been a bit of a git, especially towards Harry and his friends, but as the days grew longer, and the weeks grew warmer, Lily found him to be exceptionally mean.

She held her tongue in class when he picked on Harry. She had learned after four years of being his student that life was just better if you rolled with his punches instead of standing firm.

The Durmstrang Headmaster, Karkaroff, was also on edge. He continuously tried to get Snape on his own, but the Potions Master always found an excuse to be wherever the other man wasn't.

One day in late March, he wasn't so lucky. Lily was down in the dungeons working on preparing ingredients for a rather difficult antidote Snape had set for her when Karkaroff came storming in the room.

"Severus, we need to talk, and this time you aren't getting away."

Snape looked up from the stack of papers that he was grading. "Igor, this isn't the best of times. As you can see, I am quite busy with – "

Snape cut off his sentence and his eyes widened as Karkaroff pulled up his sleeve to reveal a black mark.

"It is getting clearer and clearer each day. It hasn't been like this since he was in power. I'm getting more and more concerned that – "

Snape's eyes narrowed. "I've told you before, flee if you feel the need to, but I will be remaining at Hogwarts."

Lily was still staring at the mark on Karkaroff's arm. She could barely make out the pattern in the dimly lit room. It looked to be some kind rock, or a skull maybe, yes, a skull, with a snake emerging from the mouth.

Her gasp of shock was heard across the room. Karkaroff spun around and quickly pulled his sleeve down, but it was too late. Lily had seen the Dark Mark on his left arm. The mark that branded him as a follower of Voldemort.

"You," she said standing up, but it was not Karkaroff she was talking to. It was Snape.

Snape stood up and held out his hand in an attempt to calm her. "Miss Rain," he said harshly. "Calm yourself."

Lily could feel the fury welling up inside of her. She had known that he had made mistakes in his life, that much was evident in his story of Lily, but she had never imagined him to be one of _them._

"No," she spat venomously. "You, you are one of them."

"Miss Rain, do not raise your voice at me." His voice was cold and commanding, and Lily found it almost impossible not to shut up at that very moment.

But, stubborn as she was, she pushed forward anyway, probably against her better judgement. However, in this state of mind, she really didn't have any capacity for better judgement. "I _trusted _you! I believed in you! And all this time you were on his side. You were supporting that monster!"

Snape didn't flinch away as her blazing green eyes met his obsidian ones. He held her gaze, both refusing to look away.

"Igor, please leave now while I deal with my student."

Karkaroff looked back and forth between the two before hurrying from the room. He had sensed the seriousness in Snape's voice and had figured it would be in his best interest to listen to the teacher.

Snape and Lily stared at each other for a while before Snape finally spoke again.

"I do not have to explain myself to you, a girl barely fifteen years in age," he drawled, eyes never leaving hers. Lily could feel the tears flooding her eyes, but she refused to let them spill over. She would not cry in front of this man.

"Because you're a coward!" she shot back at him, her voice still filled with anger. "You can't admit what a monster you are!"

With those words, his whole demeanor changed, and Lily swore the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. "I am not a coward!" he hissed, his face contorting with rage.

"You're a Death Eater," she pointed out. "That's pretty much the definition."

"Please, Miss Rain, do you really think Dumbledore would be so foolish as to hire me if I was under the influence of the Dark Lord?" The way he spoke made her feel like she was eleven years old again and he was scolding her for a mistake in one of her potions.

He did have a good point. But she still wasn't entirely convinced. "Even men as great as Dumbledore can be tricked."

Both of them had calmed down at this point. The older man sighed. "Do you believe Professor Dumbledore would have someone like me in this school if he wasn't sure, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I was on the right side?"

Lily sighed and shook her head. He was right. Whatever had happened, Dumbledore trusted him, and she was going to have to trust that the old man knew what he was doing.

"You said you trusted me once," Snape began. "You are going to have to trust me again."

Lily nodded her head. "Ok. I trust you." It was a lot to take in. But now that she was over her initial shock, she found that she truly did trust him. Regardless of whatever he wasn't telling her. And why should he tell her? He certainly had no obligation to.

Snape nodded his head slightly. Lily supposed it was his way of smiling at her. He stood up and went back to his desk. Lily figured she should leave him in peace, so she gathered her things and headed for the door.

"Miss Rain." She turned and looked at her professor. "I trust you have enough sense to keep this to yourself?"

Lily smiled. She understood exactly what he was saying. "Yes, sir. Goodnight Professor."

"Goodnight Lily."


	40. Chapter 40

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the one and only... J. K. Rowling :)**

Chapter 11

"I can't believe that after today, the tournament will be over," Ginny remarked as she sat down across the Gryffindor table from Lily.

"I hope we get to see some real action this time. The second task was a total bummer. We just sat there for an hour."

Lily glared playfully at Fred. "The third task is going to be in a _maze_ Fred. We won't be able to see anything this time either."

Fred glowered at her. Lily smiled and turned back to Ginny. "I'll be glad to see this over and done with. It will put my mind at ease."

George wrapped his arms around Lily and she leaned into his embrace. "Would you relax Lily? Everything is going to be fine. Snape, Moody, McGonagall, and Dumbledore are going to be patrolling the perimeter of the maze. All of the champions will be perfectly safe."

"Only if they send up the red sparks in time. What if something comes at them and they don't have enough time to react?"

"Dumbledore won't let anything bad happen," Hermione said stubbornly. Lily glanced over at her friend.

"Some things even Dumbledore doesn't have control over."

"Yeah, but – Mum?"

Lily whirled around and her eyes went directly to where Fred had been staring. Mrs. Weasley and Bill were following Harry into the Great Hall and over to the Gryffindor table.

"Mum, what are you doing here?" Ron asked. Mrs. Weasley put her hands on her hips.

"That's a fine way to greet your mother." She strode over to Ron and smothered him with a hug.

"Gerrof," he huffed as he tried to get free. One by one, Mrs. Weasley went around and gave each of her children a hug.

She stopped at Lily and gave her a beaming smile. "It's good to see you dear." Lily smiled back.

"It's good to see you too Mrs. Weasley." Lily stepped forward and hugged her.

"Mum," Ron cut in, "what exactly are you here for?"

Mrs. Weasley smiled. "The families of the champions were invited to come and watch the final task and well, Dumbledore figured Harry would be much happier to see Bill and me than his aunt and uncle.

"He got that one right," Harry muttered from his seat beside Hermione. Food had appeared on the table and Lily reached forward and piled her plate high.

"Now that is what I am talking about!" Bill exclaimed. "That girl knows how to eat!" Lily stuck her tongue at him and took a bite of chicken.

Harry left with the other champions just as dessert was being served. They had to go down early to get instructions from Bagman. Lily quickly finished eating and five minutes later she followed the Weasley family down to the Quidditch stadium.

Instead of the normal grass, there was a giant, twenty foot maze covering the entire field. Lily took Georges hand and the eight of them piled into one row. The stadium filled quickly and soon the task was under way.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each – Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!"

The stadium erupted into cheers. Lily was the only one that remained seated. As George sat down, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Still no support for Harry?"

"Nope. I will remain firm."

George shrugged and turned his attention back onto the field where Harry and Cedric had just run off into the maze.

Five minutes after that, Bagman blew his whistle and Krum entered. Last but not least was Fleur. Once all the champions had entered, Lily turned her attention to Hermione and Ron, who were in the middle of a heated debate about house elves.

"Hermione, would you just lay off it?" Ron was saying. "They like the work."

"Just because they like to work doesn't mean that they can't be entitled to rights like we are!" Hermione snapped back.

Lily chuckled and moved her attention over to Fred, who was sulking in his seat next to George.

"I still don't get why we get to come to these if all we do is sit here until they are done. At least the dragons were exciting."

Lily rolled her eyes. She leaned her head on George's shoulder and yawned. Although she had gotten most of her strength back, she still found herself to be physically drained on occasion. Especially when she didn't sleep well the night before.

A sudden spike in her heartbeat awoke Lily. She sat up quickly and looked around for what had caused her alarm.

"What's wrong Lily?" George asked quietly.

"I don't know." She scanned the field with her eyes, but couldn't see anything out of order. Fleur and Krum had been removed from the maze, and both were lying unconscious by the entrance, but even then, they were not in any visible danger. "Probably just my nerves acting up."

Still, she wasn't so sure. Carefully, and for the first time since the dragons, she cast her mind from her body. Slowly, she inched forward into the maze, checking to make sure the final champions were still ok.

Her pulse quickened as she swept back and forth across the field. They weren't there. And neither was the cup.

With her panic mounting, Lily stood up and made her way out of the row and down the steps to the bottom of the stadium. She walked slowly and as nonchalantly as possible so as to not attract attention to herself. She motioned Fred and George to stay behind. They looked at her quizzically, but obliged. Professor Snape was standing the closest to where she was. She must have looked like a ghost, because he hurried over as quickly as he could.

"What is it?" he growled at her, his voice low. Lily was about to answer, but at that precise moment, Snape clutched his arm and let out a hiss of pain.

Lily's eyes widened, afraid of what was coming.

"He calls." Snape said darkly. Lily's breathing started to increase. She felt her head spinning, but she held on, straining through the pounding in her ears to hear what the professor said next.

"The Dark Lord has returned."

With what sounded like a strangled cry, Lily collapsed onto the ground. At that point, Dumbledore had noticed her and had made his way to where the two had been standing. When he saw her collapsed on the floor, he ran the rest of the way and kneeled down. Slowly, he and Snape helped her to a standing position.

"What is it Miss Rain?" Dumbledore asked urgently. Lily looked into his eyes, and tried to speak, but couldn't get a sound out. Her knees buckled under her and her grip on Snape's shoulder tightened.

Snape shared a look with Dumbledore and the older wizard stood up straight. He walked brusquely over to the other teachers, his eyes peering into the maze. Lily wondered faintly through her panicked state whether the Headmaster would attempt to go into the maze after the duo.

Lily tried desperately to focus on the images in front of her, but her vision kept swimming in and out. She felt herself slip back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness. She had no clue how much time had passed. One moment she was standing next to Snape, and another she was seatd on a bench inside one of the team dressing rooms. She was unsure of which because her vision wouldn't stay in focus long enough for her to tell.

She finally came to when Snape took his wand and sprayed a stream of water on her face. She coughed and spluttered as she tried to block it.

"I'm alright, I'm alright!" she shouted. The water stopped.

Snape looked at her expectantly.

Fear spiked in her chest again. "Harry…" she croaked. "He's…"

"He's what?" Snape asked agitated.

"He's not here." Snape's face was a look of pure shock.

"What do you mean he isn't here?"

"He's gone. Cedric too. I can't find them."

Snape gave one last look at her and whirled around. Lily launched herself after him. The potions master had just reached Dumbledore when Harry appeared out of nowhere, clutching the Triwizard cup with one hand, and Cedric Diggory's body with the others.

Lily screamed as the entire stadium erupted into applause. They were too caught up with the trophy to see the horror that was lying right in front of them.

Lily turned her head away as the tears started to flow. She had said from the very beginning that this tournament had been a bad idea, but she had never truly thought anything would happen to the champions. She had thought it had only been her protective instinct combined with her stubbornness and inability to admit she was wrong.

Moments later the screams began as people started to realize that something was wrong. A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her and Lily buried her head into the person's chest.

"Shh…" came the soothing voice of George. "It will be alright Lily."

"No it won't," she sobbed into his striped shirt. "It is a long way from being alright."

* * *

**You know, I never did understand why Dumbledore didn't know what was going on when Harry arrived back. Snape was right there with him, so he should have alerted Dumbledore that something was wrong and that Voldemort had returned. I mean, Voldemort called to him, so he would have known. Maybe there was something I missed while reading the story, Idk. But that fact bugs me sometimes. **


	41. Chapter 41

**And that's the end of Book number 4! I have to say I kind of like this chapter. Just a heads up, I changed the point of view a bit here. You'll see why once you read it. Lily is still there, but it isn't centered around how she is feeling. Review please and let me know how you like it! :)**

**Disclaimer: anything you recognize from somewhere else belongs to J. K. Rowling. Not to me.  
**

Chapter 12

"Draco, come on," Pansy whined as she tugged on his arm. "We'll be late for the feast."

Draco took a few steps forward, but then turned back, facing the girl's dormitory.

"Have any of you seen Lily?" he asked.

Blaise shook his head.

"Who cares about that brat anyway?" Pansy sneered.

"She's still in the room," Daphne said, addressing Draco's question. "She was tossing and turning a lot in her sleep last night. I think she might still be asleep."

"I'll be right back." Draco released his arm from Pansy's hold and walked quietly over to the fourth year's dormitory.

"Lily," he said gently as he knocked on the door. There was no response. Slowly, he opened the door and peered inside.

"Lily!" Draco rushed over when he saw her kneeled over on the floor, obviously in pain.

"What's wrong?" he asked urgently. Lily groaned.

"My head," she muttered. "It feels, like, like it's on fire."

Draco frowned. He placed his arm around her waist and lifted her back onto her bed.

"Stay here. I'm going to get some help." Lily nodded and Draco rushed off.

"What's the matter Draco?" Blaise asked.

"Something's wrong with Lily. I'm going to get help. Daphne, will you stay with her?" The girl nodded. Without another thought, Draco raced off in search of someone, anyone, who would be able to help.

"Professor Snape!" Draco shouted as he banged his fist against the door. "Professor Snape, open up. It's an emergency!"

There was no movement behind the wooden door. Draco lingered a moment more before he raced upstairs, as fast as his legs could carry him. He didn't consider Lily to be one of his close friends, heck, they really weren't friends at all, but he still didn't want anything bad to happen to her. Besides, if he saved her now, she would be in his debt, wouldn't she?

Thankfully, Professor McGonagall was just descending the stairs. She stopped when she caught sight of Draco. His normally slicked back hair was loose and his pale skin was even paler than usual.

"Mr. Malfoy, whatever is the matter?" she asked as the boy came, panting, to a stop.

"Professor, you have to come quickly. It's Lily. Something's wrong with her. I tried Professor Snape's door, but he didn't answer."

McGonagall lifted the bottom of her robes and followed Draco quickly down to the Slytherin dormitory.

"Where is she?" McGonagall asked brusquely as she practically flew down the stairs to where the rest of the Slytherin fourth years were standing. Pansy pointed in the direction of their dorm. Without stopping, McGonagall turned the corner and raced down the hall.

She stopped abruptly in the doorway, and Draco almost ran into her. Slowly, McGonagall moved forward and kneeled by Lily, who was shaking on the floor, clutching her head. Her eyes were shut and her face was scrunched up in what looked to be a scream, but there was no sound emerging from her mouth.

"She's burning up," McGonagall murmured as she laid her hand on Lily's forehead. Tears were streaming down Lily's face and it looked like she was in immense pain.

"Why is there no sound coming from her?" Draco asked, his stomach churning at the sight before him.

"She put a silencing spell on herself," Daphne answered, "right after you left."

McGonagall looked up startled. "A silencing charm, but that means – " she turned back to Lily with fear in her eyes.

"Mr. Malfoy, go up to the Great Hall and fetch Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore. Tell them to come to the Hospital Wing immediately. Take Miss Greengrass with you and try to be as discreit as possible. I don't want the entire student body worked up about this."

Both teenagers nodded in understanding and hurried off to grab their professors. McGonagall slowly lifted Lily into her arms. The girl was extremely warm, and McGonagall wondered how long she had been sick like this. The previous night's events must have really shaken her up.

McGonagall raced up the stairs as fast as she could. Instead of taking a left and heading up the stairs, she took a right and entered a small room further down the hall. It operated much like that of a muggle elevator. All she had to do was step in, close the door, and open it again and she would be on the floor that she desired to be on.

"Poppy!" Professor McGonagall shouted as she entered the room and laid the shaking girl on one of the beds. "Poppy, where are you?"

"What is it Minerva?" Madame Pomfrey asked as she poked her head out of her office door. When she caught sight of Lily, she jumped up. "Good heavens, what happened?"

"I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me."

Madame Pomfrey walked over to the girl and put her hand on Lily's forehead.

"She's burning up."

"Yes," McGonagall sighed, "and according to Miss Greengrass, she put a silencing charm on herself."

Madame Pomfrey looked up, confused. "Why would she do that?"

"I'm almost afraid to find out," McGonagall said gravely as she undid the spell. Almost instantly, a bloodcurdling scream emerged from Lily's mouth. She was clutching her head and her body was shaking violently. Madame Pomfrey jumped up and went into her storage cabinet. She pulled out a small vial and poured the contents down Lily's throat.

"Can you make out what she is saying?" McGonagall shouted over the noise. Madame Pomfrey was whispering into the girl's ear, trying to calm her down. Eventually, the screams subsided and Lily fell into a deep sleep.

"I don't know if she was saying anything Minerva. I think her screams were pain filled. But I couldn't even begin to guess at why."

"I might be able to help you there."

Both women turned to see Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore standing in the doorway. Snape strode forward and took a good look at Lily's sleeping body.

"What is going on Severus?" Dumbledore asked quietly. "What is happening to her?"

"Lily possesses a rare talent, one that I have seen only one other time in my life. From her mother. Melanie, as is the case with her daughter, was a telepath. She could, for all intensive purposes, 'read' the minds of people around her. I discovered this fact on day in my sixth year when she tried to…counsel me with something I was struggling with. We never spoke of it after that day. As far as I know, Lily's abilities are of a much greater magnitude than her mother's was, and therefore, is a greater danger to her."

"Are you saying that this ability is causing her to become ill like this?" McGonagall asked as she stood up.

"In a way. Back in November, she used her mental abilities to keep a reign on all four dragons the champions were fighting. She felt that four, fully grown, nesting mothers were far too dangerous for a seventeen year old to handle, and she was right. If she had not intervened, at least one of the champions would have died that day. Perhaps more. Although she performed excellently, it nearly destroyed her. Using her powers for that extended amount of time required more energy than she had to give and she came very close to death. As a result, she was both mentally and physically drained. I warned her that her mental abilities wouldn't be up to normal strength for as many as seven months. I assume that she stopped using them then, that is, until last night."

"Ah," Dumbledore said at last. All eyes turned to look at him. "Miss Rain saw that Cedric and Harry had disappeared."

"Yes. She must have sensed them disappear from the grounds because she came to find me minutes before the Dark Lord called the Death Eaters to his side. Something frightened her greatly and she was unable to tell me what was going on. She continued to slip in and out of consciousness until I finally revived her, but by then it was too late. Potter had arrived back, bearing the news that the Dark Lord had returned."

"That still doesn't explain what is happening to her now," McGonagall pointed out. Snape narrowed his eyes at her impatience and continued.

"Using her abilities last night, whether consciously or not, was a very dangerous thing for her to do, and it has obviously set some kind of defense in motion. The magic within her has recognized this ability as a danger to her heath and is currently trying to flush the body of it."

"Are you saying that her body is trying to get rid of her mental abilities?" Madame Pomfrey asked, still in shock. Snape nodded.

"I have read about similar things happening before, and many of the stories do not end happily. Most of the time the cleansing process kills the victim, or they become too weak to take care of themselves once it is all over."

"Is there nothing we can do?" McGonagall asked, tears in her eyes.

"She must be sent to St. Mungo's as soon as possible. Give them strict directions to make sure she has enough food and water to sustain her and keep her as healthy as she can be. She is going to need all of her strength if she is going to get through this."

"So we just have to sit back and watch?" Madame Pomfrey asked, her eyes wide with horror. "And just hope she can pull through?"

"It is all we can do. It will be extremely painful for both her and those that care about her. I believe she will make it through, but we need to get her to some place that can give her the care she needs."

"Minerva," Dumbledore said, "Please go down to the Great Hall and tell all of the students that I will be there shortly. And please alert Molly to what has happened. She will know how best to tell her children as well as Harry and Hermione. Poppy, take Lily to my office. From there you can floo over to St. Mungo's. Tell them exactly what Serverus has shared with you. I will send him over soon." Both women nodded their heads and without asking any more questions, proceeded to do exactly as he had asked. McGonagall walked quickly from the room and Madame Pomfrey loaded Lily onto a stretcher and levitated her to the headmaster's office.

"Severus," Dumbledore said when they were finally alone. "What will happen to her if she does make it through?"

Snape looked at Dumbledore gravely. "She will be very weak. It will take months for her to regain her strength. And she will most likely lose her mental abilities all together. If she retains any at all it will be very little. She may lose her magic as well. It is impossible to tell."

Dumbledore looked at the Potions Master sadly before sighing and turning towards the door. "You may go meet up with Poppy now. I must go and begin the feast."

Snape nodded curtly and strode from the room. Dumbledore closed his eyes once more before following his comrade out of the room. The thought that a young girl would have to suffer so much pain, and in the end might lose everything she was, just about broke Albus's heart.


	42. Chapter 42

**Yay! Book five is finally here. I can't believe this story is more than half over already. I hope you all like this chapter :) Review and let me know!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
**

Book 5

Chapter 1

The pain was unbearable. It stabbed at her mind like a thousand scalding knives. Lily called out in the darkness, but to no avail. Her voice made no noise in the blackness around her.

Her skin burned and her ears rang with a high shrill noise that she couldn't get rid of. She wanted it all to end.

There were very brief periods of peace. Every once in a while she would notice that the pain in her body had subsided, or the ringing in her ears had quieted. But those times were small, and she felt her heart longing for them more and more.

Sometimes she swore she could even hear a voice talking to her. Although she could never hear what it was saying, it comforted her. It gave her hope that someday, everything would turn out alright.

It was the voice that saved her, that pulled her from the darkness, from the pain. She was in the midst of it all, her body screaming in agony, when she heard the voice again. It was talking to her, and this time she could make out what it was saying.

"_Lily. Shh…Lily, it's alright. It's just me."_

Lily tried to call out to the voice, but her throat was as dry as a desert. She felt the pain in her hand ease as the voice went on.

"_Please Lily. Hang on in there. You can make it, I know you can. You can fight this off. You are such a strong person, you can beat this. Please Lily."_

The voice broke out in a sob. Lily felt a desire to reach out and touch the voice, but her arms were like heavy pieces of lead. She couldn't move them.

"_Lily, please, you have to fight this off. I need you. I don't know what I would do without you in my life. Please Lily. I love you, and I couldn't bear to lose you."_

Lily felt a coolness on her hand, and the pain started to intensify. She screamed as a wave of heat washed through her body. The darkness around her turned instantly into a bright light that blinded her. She screamed louder as she felt her mind explode, banishing whatever it was that was holding her down. Once and for all.

Slowly the pain subsided and she was left, shaking, soaking wet, but free of the darkness that had held her for so long.

The light in the room was dark, and for that Lily was thankful. Whoever had put her in here obviously knew what they were dealing with.

"Lily?" she turned towards the voice and saw George sitting by her side.

"I love you too, George."

He laughed and brought her hand up to kiss it. "I thought, I thought you weren't going to make it." Lily could hear the fear in his voice and she squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"But I did. And it was because of you." George got up and climbed into the bed next to her. She shifted her weight so he could slip his arm around her waist. Gently, he pulled her close to him and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Where am I?" she finally asked. George smiled.

"We're in Number 12 Grimmauld Place."

Lily looked at him, completely confused. "Were is that?"

George just smiled wider. "Headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix. It's Dumbledore's secret Voldemort fighting group."

Lily laughed. "That's an interesting way to put it." She looked up at George and smiled. He leaned in and placed his hand under her chin. Lily's heart swelled as he kissed her for the first time in way too long.

"I'm so glad you're ok," George whispered.

Lily blushed. She reached her hand behind his neck and pulled him closer into another kiss. "So am I," she whispered back.

The two were interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. George climbed out of the bed and walked over. Slowly he opened it to reveal Fred, standing worriedly outside.

"How is she doing?" He asked quietly. George's beaming face answered the question. Fred burst into the room and stood staring at Lily.

"You're alright!" He shouted before launching himself at her.

"Fred!" George scolded as he tried to pry his brother off of Lily. "Be careful!"

Fred finished hugging Lily and stood up. "I've got to go let everyone else know." He bolted from the room without giving Lily the chance to ask him what he meant.

"Who else is here?" She asked George as Fred's footsteps disappeared down the stairs.

"You'll see soon. There's a bunch though. Do you think you could make it downstairs?"

Lily frowned. "I might be able to, if I had someone to help me, but I'd really like to get cleaned up a little. I'm sure no one wants to see me like this, all sweaty and gross."

George smiled and raced from the room. Lily could hear him shouting for someone, but she couldn't tell who it was. Moments later she heard footsteps racing up the stairs. A small red haired girl poked her head through the door.

"Lily!" Ginny shouted as she walked over to greet her friend. The two embraced and Ginny slowly helped Lily out of the bed and into the bathroom. It took Ginny a long time to undress the girl because she was so weak. After an hour, Lily was finally bathed and dressed again. Ginny left the bathroom and went to get her brothers.

"You ready?" Fred asked excitedly. Lily was seated back on her bed and she was panting with the effort it had taken her to get to the bathtub and back again. Forcing a smile, she wrapped her arms around Fred and George's shoulders and they wrapped theirs around her waist, supporting her.

As the trio descended the stairs, Lily noticed that there was a large crowd of people waiting in the room off to her left.

Someone had warned the group of her exhaustion, because as she entered the kitchen and sat down at the large table in the center of the room, no one rushed up to greet her. She began to smile as she saw the beaming faces of so many of her friends.

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were sitting at the other end of the table, next to Remus Lupin and the real Mad-Eye Moody. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were standing behind a woman with bright purple hair that Lily didn't know. She wasn't the only one that Lily didn't recognize. There were a few other men that were seated at the table she had never seen before. Everyone was looking at her curiously, but as she scanned the room, she noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Harry?" she asked.

"Remus, Kingsley, Tonks, and Mad-Eye were just about to leave to go get him," a voice answered from behind her. Lily strained to see who it was.

"Sirius!" she shouted with excitement. Lily unwrapped her arms from Fred and George and, almost falling over in the process, gave the man a giant hug.

"I missed you," she whispered into his ear as he pulled her closer.

"I missed you too kid."

Slowly, Sirius led her over to an empty chair and sat her down. Lupin, Moody, the purple haired girl, Tonks, and a large black man, Kingsley, had all gotten up from the table and were walking towards the door. Lily wondered just how long it would take them to get Harry, and why it took so many wizards to go get him.

"Are you hungry at all dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Lily shrugged. "A little I guess." Mrs. Weasley walked over and gave her a big hug before getting up and fetching her a bowl of soup from the pot on the stove.

The soup soothed Lily's shaking body some. She was happy to see everyone, but at the same time, she was starting to feel the strain of being up and about after…well, however long it had been.

"Um, what is today's date?" Lily asked curiously. The whole room fell silent, and no one would look at her in the eyes.

Mr. Weasley was the one that finally answered. "July 30th. You've been…ill…for a month now."

Lily paled and stared at her soup. "I – I have? Why? Why was I so sick?"

"I think the proper question to ask is, why are you out of bed instead of resting like you should be?"

Lily turned to see Professor Snape standing in the doorway. His eyes were narrowed and he was staring at her with an obvious look of anger.

"Severus, please," Mr. Weasley said, a bit annoyed. "Lily hasn't been awake since June. We all wanted to see her just as much as she wanted to see us. Fred and George were very careful in bringing her down here."

Snape scowled. "What you don't seem to understand, Arthur, is that Lily is in a very delicate situation at the moment. She is both physically and mentally drained and has just endured a very painful experience that she needs weeks of rest to recover from. As to her abilities, we still have no idea what has survived and what hasn't. If she hopes to retain her magic, she should rest as much as possible."

"I could lose my magic?" Lily asked horrified.

Snape turned to face her. "If you haven't already. You have been through a very extreme process of cleansing and it is probable that you have lost your mental abilities, though losing your magic is a very rare occurrence. My guess is you have only lost your mental abilities, and will still be able to use magic. But we can't be sure until we test you."

"Then test me," Lily demanded, looking around for her wand. Snape took out his wand and Mr. Weasley handed Lily hers.

"Severus, you can't be serious. What could she possibly need with a wand now?" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

Snape held up a hand to silence her. He raised his wand and Lily waited patiently.

"Legitimus."

The expression on Snape's face caused her heart to swell. She still did have some of her abilities. He still couldn't get through her mind to see her thoughts.

"Ok. Now tell me, what was my mother's name?"

Lily tried to extend her mind, but found there was nothing there. She had never felt so normal before.

"I can't," she finally said.

"So your mental shield is still in place, but that is all."

Lily tried again, but she still felt nothing. "It really is gone," she murmured. In a wave of panic, Lily took out her wand and held it out in front of her.

"Lumos." She heaved a sigh of relief when the tip of the wand lit up. She still had her magic.

"So wait, what are you saying here?" Fred asked looking at Snape.

"I am saying, Mr. Weasley, that Lily can no longer use the abilities she once had. She can't read minds, she can't use her abilities as an offensive attack, she can't sense when something around her is wrong. Nothing. The only thing she has left is the shield that was around her mind, preventing anyone from entering."

George reached over and took Lily's hand. She noticed Sirius smiling out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm alright George. It's going to be weird adjusting to the changes, but it's not that big of a deal. I'm just happy that I lived through the ordeal."

"You should really get some rest," Snape cut in. "It will help you recover faster."

Lily nodded and allowed George to carry her into the other room. The two of them settled down into the couch. Lily stretched out and laid her head on George's lap.

"You comfortable?" George asked as he began to stroke her hair. Lily nodded her head and shut her eyes, exhaustion filling her body and causing her to fall into a deep sleep.


	43. Chapter 43

**Sorry it took so long to put this one up. I had it written last night, but was in Washington D.C. all day for a field trip, so I couldn't publish it. Hope you all enjoy. Review Please! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters you recognize.  
**

Chapter 2

"_Filth! Scum!By products of dirt and vileness!Hlf-breeds, mutants, freak! Begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers!"_

Lily awoke with a start. A woman was screaming these obscinities from right outside in the hallway. Lily sat up and looked around. George helped her up and the both of them walked out into the hall to see what was going on.

Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Mrs. Weasley and Harry were all standing around an old picture frame that Sirius and Lupin were desperately trying to cover up. The woman in the painting had been what had woken Lily.

"Hello Harry," Sirius greeted his godson as he and Lupin finally pulled the tapestry over top of the cruel woman. "I see you've met my mother."

Sirius had told her a long time that he ran away from home at the age of sixteen because his parents were so awful, and now Lily saw what he had meant. She probably would have run away if her mother had been like that.

"Hey Harry," Lily said as she gave him a wave. Harry waved back.

"It's nice to see you Lily. When did you wake up?"

Lily smiled. "Today actually."

"Well, I'm glad that you're ok again."

The group proceeded into the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley was busy cooking dinner for the house. George walked Lily over to where Fred was standing at the other end of the table

"The Order had a meeting when Harry got back an hour ago so they all missed dinner," George explained as he sat Lily down at the table. "We aren't allowed to go because we're too young according to Mum, even though Fred and I are of age."

"I suppose your Mum has a reason for that. So you two can do magic outside of school now, right?"

George grinned. "Yeah. You wanna see?" Fred asked excitedly. Lily nodded.

They whipped out their wands and bewitched the completed stew, along with a jug of butterbeer, a breadboard, and a knife to float in the air.

"Fred – George – NO JUST CARRY THEM!" Mrs. Weasley roared, but it was too late. Lily stifled a laugh as Sirius, Lupin, and Harry dove out of the way as the items went flying across the table.

"FOR HEAVENS SAKE! THERE WAS NO NEED – I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS – JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!"

"We were just trying to save a bit of time," Fred said as he wrenched the knife out of the table. "Sorry Sirius, mate - didn't mean to."

Harry and Sirius had started laughing and soon Lily was too. The expressions on their faces had been priceless. Ron and Hermione entered the room and soon everyone was eating and having a good time. Although she was still tired, Lily was happy to be surrounded by all of her friends again.

Mrs. Weasley came around once everyone had finished eating and started to clear the dishes away. "Nearly time for bed I think," she said glancing over a Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

"Not just yet Molly," Sirius said as he handed her his plate. He turned to Harry with a puzzled look on his face. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."

The room was dead silent. Lily's heart started pounding as she glanced back and forth from Harry to Sirius.

"I did!" Harry said. "I asked Ron and Hermione, but they said we weren't allowed in the Order, so – "

"And they're quite right," Mrs. Weasley stated. "You're too young."

"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions? Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month, he has a right to know what's been happen-"

"Hang on!" George shouted angrily from his seat.

"How come Harry get's his questions answered?" Fred asked hotly.

"_We've_ been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!"

"_You're too young, you're not in the Order!" _Fred said in a high pitched voice. "Harry's not even of age!"

"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing," Sirius said, undaunted by their accusations. "That's your parent's decision. Harry, on the other hand –"

It's not down to you to decide what's best for Harry!" Mrs. Weasley cut in. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said I suppose?"

"Which bit?"

"The bit about not telling Harry more than he _needs to know_."

"I don't intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly, but as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back, he has more right than most to –"

"He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix! He's only fifteen and – "

"And he's dealt with as much as most in the Order, and more than some –"

"No one's denying what he's done, but still – "

"He's not a child!"

"He's not an adult either! He's not James, Sirius!"

"I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly."

Lily tuned the rest of the argument out. Her head had started to pound and she just wanted to go back to sleep. Soon both Mr. Weasley and Lupin were brought in until Mrs. Weasley said in a defeated voice, "Very well. Ginny – Ron – Hermione – Fred – George – I want you all out of this kitchen now."

Fred and George jumped out of their seats.

"We're of age!" they roared at their mother.

"If Harry's allowed, why can't I?" Ron protested.

"Mum! I want to!" Ginny howled.

"NO! I absolutely forbid –"

Mr. Weasley cut in. "Molly, you can't stop Fred and George. They are of age."

"But they're still in school – "

"Yes, but they are legally adults now."

"Oh, alright then. Fred and George, you can stay, but Ron, Hermione, Ginny, I want you upstairs right this instant. And would you help Lily up there too?"

"Wait," Lily's voice was quiet, but every eye in the room was on her. "I want to stay and hear this."

"While you are here under my care, without your guardian, you will do as I say. Go upstairs with the rest."

"But this is important to me!" Lily protested. She wanted to hear about her father, wanted to know what he was up to.

"No," Mrs. Weasley said again. "Ron, help her up." Ron stood up and walked over to her. Lily pulled away from him as he tried to stand her up.

"I deserve to be here as much as Harry does!" she shouted, anger seeping into her voice. "Even more than he does! You can't just send me away!"

"You know, Mum," George said, "she really does."

"Shut it George!" Mrs. Weasley snapped. "Or you'll be joining them."

This shut him up. Lily was infuriated. He would sit there, knowing how important this was to her, and not say anything in her defense, just so he could be there to hear it.

"Fine!" she glared at George, a fire in her eyes. "I can't believe you would do this to me!" she hissed as Ron almost dragged her from the room. George said nothing as the door was closed behind her.

Lily entered the room where she, Ginny, and Hermione would be staying for the rest of the break. Ron helped her over to one of the mattresses and she laid down on it. Fresh tears began to fall from her eyes as she curled up under her covers and fell asleep.

* * *

After a good night's sleep, Lily felt well enough to get up and dress herself before going downstairs for breakfast.

"Morning Lily," Mrs. Weasley greeted her warmly. Lily smiled and piled her plate high with the pancakes she had cooked.

"Morning, Mrs. Weasley." Lily took her plate over to the table and sat down on the opposite end from where George was. She didn't want to have anything to do with him.

"How did you sleep?" George asked her, politely. Lily glared at him.

"I don't want to talk to you George," she spat. He looked really hurt, but she didn't care. Lupin looked up at her in shock from the Daily Prophet he was reading, but said nothing.

She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Ron was glowering at her. Lily ignored him. She ate her food and then headed back upstairs. Her routine went on like that for an entire week before somebody said anything about it to her.

She was heading back upstairs after eating dinner when Ron finally lost it.

"What the hell is your problem?" he called after her as she started to climb the stairs. Lily slowly turned around to face him.

"Why are you treating him like this? It wasn't his fault you weren't allowed to stay for the meeting, so why take it out on him?"

"He knows why," Lily said curtly. This wasn't enough for Ron.

"You know, Hermione and I didn't get to go either, and you don't see us moping about because of it."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "If anyone should have been allowed in that meeting, it should have been me. Not Harry, not Fred and George, me."

"Why? Because you think you're better than us? News flash Lily, you aren't! Without those 'special' abilities, you are just like the rest of us."

"Ron, leave her alone," George said to his younger brother. Ron ignored him.

"You need to quit being so stuck up all of the time. Stop being mad whenever something doesn't go your way."

"I said leave her alone."

"NO! I won't! If you won't stick up for yourself, I sure as hell will. I'm tired of seeing her hurt you just cuz things aren't perfect for her."

"This doesn't concern you Ron." George's voice was serious and Ron finally backed down. He gave Lily one final glare before disappearing into the living room.

"Sorry about him – "

"I don't want apologies from you George!" Lily snapped. "You knew how important being in that meeting was to me. You were the only one who did, and you didn't say anything."

"What was I supposed to say?" He asked, frustration finally entering his voice. "I can't very well tell them the real reason can I?"

"No, but you should have fought your mom more. You should have stood up for me."

"Believe me, doing that would have caused Mum to lose it completely, and you don't want to see her like that."

"Anything is better than what you did!" Lily shrieked. She was trembling with a combination of emotion and exhaustion.

"What did you want me to do?" George shouted back. By this time they had attracted quite a bit of attention. Lupin and Tonks were looking at them from the living room doorway, and Mrs. Weasley was listening to them from the kitchen. It almost looked to Lily that the woman was crying.

"I wanted you to come with me! The fact that you got to hear what they said about Voldemort and I didn't should have rung a bell in your head! You should have realized how it would have made me feel and you should have stuck with me!"

George was stunned. He had never thought to do that at all. "I'm sorry Lily, I really am. I should have stayed with you, but I didn't and I'm sorry. Still, I don't see why you have to stay this mad at me for so long. What good is it going to do? I know I messed up, but believe me when I tell you that I was going to tell you everything they said in the meeting."

Lily scowled, but her anger was slowly ebbing. He had a point. She really shouldn't have taken all her frustration out on him. Part of the reason she was so angry was because she felt empty. Without her abilities, she felt like part of her was missing, and she was pretty upset about that fact.

"You're right. I've been acting like a baby, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken all of my feelings out on you."

"So, can we stop fighting?" He asked sweetly. Lily smiled.

"Yeah. We can stop fighting."

George walked over to her and pulled her close, giving her a kiss. Lily broke away when she heard cheering coming from the kitchen. Fred, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Sirius were still sitting down and had broken out into applause.

Mrs. Weasley was beaming at them and Lupin and Tonks were smiling. The only person who had a sour look on his face was Ron. Lily ignored him and, with George's help, went back into the kitchen.

"So," she asked once she had settled down. "What's the schedule like for the rest of the summer?"

"Harry's hearing is tomorrow, and for the rest of us, we have some major cleaning to do."

The entire table groaned and flashed looked of protest at Mrs. Weasley. Lily, on the other hand, smiled.

"Sounds great! When do we start?"

Fred laughed. "It's nice to have you back Lily."

"It's nice to be back."


	44. Chapter 44

**Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me-e...happy birthday to me! :) I'm finally seventeen. Woo-Hoo! Sorry this took so long to update, but my church's youth group is coming over today for a bonfire at my house and we had a lot of cleaning to do. Hope you all enjoy! Review please!**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.  
**

Chapter 3

"Please," George begged as he kneeled down at Lily's feet, clasping his hands together. "Please tell me you aren't a prefect. I don't think I could take it if my brother _and_ my girlfriend were both prefects.

Lily giggled and held up her Hogwarts letter. "Nope. You're safe."

George jumped up and gave her a giant hug. "Thank goodness! I would have had to disown you if you had been, and that would have made me really sad."

"You're just jealous that Dumbledore didn't make you a prefect. You and Fred are the only ones in the family that weren't."

George rolled his eyes. "Not according to our mother. Apparently, we are next door neighbors of some sort."

Lily smiled and stood up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to give him a kiss. "I think you are wonderful just the way you are."

The two were interrupted when Harry, Ron, and Hermione came bounding down the stairs.

"Lily!" Hermione shouted. "Did you get a badge too? Ron and I are prefects."

"Hermione," Ron muttered. "You don't have to flash it all over the place."

Lily shook her head. "No. I didn't get one. Dumbledore probably thought it would prevent my speedy recovery if I had the added pressure of being a prefect."

"That makes sense," Hermione said as she sat down at the table.

"So what are we doing today?" Lily asked curiously. She had been in the house for over a month and she had barely helped with the cleaning at all. It was time for her to pitch in.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley said as she entered the room. "I am off to Diagon Alley to get your books, and after that we're having a celebratory dinner for both Ron and Hermione. So, there isn't much for you guys to do today. If you really want, you can clean up the kitchen a little so it will be easier to cook dinner."

"Alright. Sounds good to me." Lily walked over to the sink and pulled out a sponge. With it, she started to wipe down all of the counters and the table.

"Honestly. You are the only person I know that actually enjoys cleaning," George grumbled as he sat down at the table. Lily just smiled at him.

It took her a while, but she finally got Fred and Gorge to help her out with the cleaning. After they had completed it, the trio went upstairs to pack their trunks for Hogwarts.

The conversation at dinner was centered around the new Gryffindor prefects. Lily chimed in every once in a while, but found she was content to just sit and listen. The minutes flew by and Mrs. Weasley finally stood up and stretched her arms out.

"Well, I think I'll sort out that boggart before I turn in."

Lily's stomach sank. She hated boggarts, with a passion. Normally, she was good at dealing with her fear, but the girl that she had seen back in her third year scared the living daylights out of her. She never wanted to go near a boggart again.

"You alright" George asked as he placed his hand on her knee.

Lily nodded, but her eyes were staring off into space. "I'm alright. I just don't like boggarts that much, that's all."

George smiled sympathetically. "I don't think anyone does. Hey, do you want to go sit down somewhere where it's a bit quieter?"

Lily nodded and the two got up from the table and retreated into the living room. Lily curled up on the couch and laid her head on George's chest.

"What do you see?" Lily asked quietly.

"What do I see when?"

"When you look at a boggart. What do you see?"

George was silent for a while. "I see you," he finally answered. "Telling me that you don't want me anymore, that you don't love me."

Lily sat up shocked. She placed her hands on George's cheeks and stared him in the eyes. They were filled with tears, and he was trying hard not to cry.

"Why would you be afraid of that?" Lily asked him. "It would never happen. I love you, and I need you more than anything."

George tried to look away from her, but she held his head firmly. "I just – I'm afraid it will happen. What if something changes between us and you don't love me anymore. What am I supposed to do then? You're everything to me. I'd be so lost without you."

Lily scooted over and sat down on his lap. "George Weasley. You listen to me right now. I love you. With all of my heart. When I was sick, everything was dark. Darkness and pain: it was all I knew. But there were times when I could hear a voice speaking to me. I could hear you. Your tears woke me up. I survived because of you. Because I need you as much as you need me."

Without waiting for his response, Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She felt his arms snake around her waist and she pressed herself closer to him.

Lily could feel the heat rushing through her body as the kisses grew deeper, more passionate. She trembled as his hand found her hair and became entangled. She slid her hands down his chest and felt his well toned muscles. He trembled under her touch.

Finally they broke apart. Lily opened her eyes and her heart swelled when she saw the look in George's eyes.

"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?" he asked her softly. Lily giggled.

"I don't believe you have."

"All the beautiful things on this earth: the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, the sea, they are all dull in comparison to you."

Lily's eyebrows arched, but she was trying to suppress a smile. "Since when are you romantic?"

George stuck his tongue out at her. "I have my moments Miss." Lily laughed and pressed her nose into the crook of his neck.

"You sure do." George pulled her close to him and the two sat there, listening to each other breathing for a while.

Lily had a sudden image of the two of them, years in the future, as husband and wife, with a family. She smiled and thought about how wonderful it would be to get married to George. She knew that was what she wanted, but she also realized that it would be a while before anything like that could happen. She was only fifteen after all. Most people didn't get married until at least ten years later. Very few married earlier than twenty, and those that did were still at least eighteen. Still, it was a nice thought.

As the feeling of sleep finally began to take its toll, Lily stood up. George looked a little disappointed.

"Sorry George," she murmured. "But I really need to go to bed."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I just like having you by my side."

Lily smiled and took his hand. "I know. Why don't you come upstairs with me? you can get changed into your pajamas and we can spend some more time together up there."

George's eyes lit up and he followed her up the stairs. She gave him a quick kiss as she disappeared into her room to change. Fred and George's room was up on the third floor, so he had a bit more of a walk.

Once she was changed, Lily sat on the bed, patiently waiting for George to return. The minutes ticked by slowly, but he didn't appear. Sighing with annoyance, Lily got up and began the climb up to the third floor. She stopped when she heard quiet sobbing. Who was it?

Picking up her pace, Lily raced up the rest of the stairs and entered the drawing room.

Her heart stopped. Kneeling on the floor was Mrs. Weasley, and in her arms, she held the dead body of her son George.

It wasn't possible. Lily had just seen George, moments ago. He couldn't be dead. That thought didn't prevent her heart start to break. She could feel it, crumbling, falling into a million pieces.

Lily let out a strangled cry and rushed to Mrs. Weasley's side. Tears were streaming down her face and she was trembling.

"What happened?" she choked out.

Lily jumped back in surprise as, with a Crack, George's body disappeared and was replaced with Ron's. She knew at once that it was the boggart. Her despair that George had died was instantly replaced with a sense of anxiety and fear. She knew what was coming.

"Let me help you, Mrs. Weasley. You don't have to fight this alone." Lily lifted Mrs. Weasley off of the ground and positioned herself in front of the weeping woman.

The boggart changed shape, and Lily swore that the temperature in the room dropped by ten degrees. Standing before her was the girl in her nightmares.

The girl smirked at her and started to walk forward. Lily pulled out her wand and pointed it at the girl. She was faintly aware of the fact that more people had entered the room and were watching her.

The girl didn't speak as she walked closer. Her snake-like eyes bore into Lily's green ones. Lily could feel the pure power radiating from her. With her arm shaking, Lily lifted her arm and cried, "Riddikulus!"

Like before, the girl remained for a fraction of a second before disintegrating into a group of butterflies. With a crack, the boggart was gone.

"Who was that?" Moody asked as he, Lupin, Harry, and George walked over to her and Mrs. Weasley.

Lily handed the sobbing Mrs. Weasley over to Lupin and turned to face Moody.

"I don't know who she is. I've only seen her before in my dreams: my nightmares."

Moody frowned and looked back over at the place where the boggart had been. "Whoever she was, she was dangerous." He paused and looked back over at Lily. "We can only hope that she is a figment of your imagination."

Lily couldn't agree more.


	45. Chapter 45

**Sorry it took me so long to get this updated. I had Godspell rehearsal all day Sunday, and my friends and I are hard at work on a math project due Thursday. Why teachers heap giant projects at the end of the year I will never know...Enjoy! and let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling  
**

Chapter 4

"I really don't want to go in there," Lily whined as she, Fred and George approached the DADA classroom door.

"I thought you loved this class," Fred pointed out.

"I highly doubt that this toad from the ministry could make this class exciting."

Fred and George chuckled. "You'll have to let us know how it goes."

Lily groaned and pushed open the door to the classroom. Most of the class had already arrived, but the room was silent. No one knew how strict this Umbridge woman was going to be, so they decided to play it on the safe side.

She made a move to try and sit down next to Hermione, but was stopped by a small noise. Lily looked up at Professor Umbridge as she explained her latest disapproval.

"My dear," she said in a sickly sweet voice. "In my classroom, students will remain seated with their _houses_. I have found that to be the best way that children learn, by being in the environment most familiar with them."

"Bur Professor, I assure you, I would be most comfortable with my friends."

Umbridge gave her a forced smile. Lily already detested the woman. "Your friends? My dear, the sorting hat placed you in Slytherin, so therefore, your friends are in Slytherin. Go sit with them."

Lily bit back her retort and went to sit on the other side of the room. Draco had so kindly moved Goyle out of the seat next to him, so Lily sat there.

"What are you smiling at?" Lily growled as she noticed Draco's expression.

"This woman is going to bring great changes to this joke of a school," he explained smugly.

"Changes yes, but I'm not so sure about the great part."

Lily was silenced by Umbridge's soft cough. She stood up and began to greet the class. Lily winced at the tone that emerged from her mouth. That sickly sweet voice, it buried itself under Lily's skin and ground into her bones.

She remained silent as the rest of the class murmured their greetings to the new professor at her bidding. Umbridge flicked her wand towards the chalkboard and words appeared on them. Lily groaned as she took them in:

_Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_A Return to Basic Principles_

"You've got to be kidding me," she hissed under her breath. Unfortunately, Umbridge heard her.

"Is there something you would like to share with the class, Miss – "

"Rain," Lily answered as the class turned to look at her. "Lily Rain."

"Ah, I believe I have had the privilege of meeting and working in close proximity with your father," she said as she gave Lily a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Quite an extrodanary person, I must say. Surely I won't have any issues from his daughter."

"Niece," Lily corrected. "Charles is my uncle."

Umbridge raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? I wasn't aware that he had any siblings."

Lily narrowed her eyes. What was this woman getting at? "Obviously he did, or I wouldn't be sitting in this room."

"And what a pity that would be, now if you all would please open your books and begin to read the first chapter 'Basics for Beginners.'" Umbridge said as she stared directly at Lily. Not breaking eye contact, Lily reached into her bag and pulled out her book. Only once Umbridge had looked away did she open the book and start reading.

It was the most boring thing Lily had ever read. She soon found herself re-reading the same paragraph over and over again.

She must have dosed off, because the next thing Lily knew, there was a shout and a loud scraping of a chair and Harry was standing up in his seat, glaring furiously at the Professor. All eyes were on him.

"So according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead on his own accord?"

Lily stared at Harry too. She had seen him upset before, but never like this.

Umbridge stared at him smugly. "Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident."

Lily couldn't believe what her ears were hearing. Was the Ministry really so proud that they couldn't admit that their worst enemy had been restored, on their account. Or was it they were too scared to see what was plainly in front of them?

"It was murder," Harry growled. "Voldemort killed him, and you know it."

Lily's stomach churned. Though she agreed with Harry, and believed him 100 %, she didn't think it was a wise move to get on the wrong side of Umbridge. Yes, she detested the woman, but Umbridge held great power at the current moment. It was common knowledge not to bite the hand that feeds you, and Harry was certainly taking a nip at that hand.

The class was silent as Harry walked forward. Umbridge handed him a small sheet of paper and whispered something into his ear. Harry glared at her for a moment before storming out of the room.

"Back to your books everyone." Lily forced her eyes back on the page. It was still just as dry and boring. After what seemed like an eternity, the bell finally rung. Lily was the first one out of the room. She ran as fast as her small legs could carry her down the hall and out of sight.

* * *

"You have _got_ to get a handle on your friend," Fred groaned as he sat down for lunch the next afternoon. "She's really putting a damper on our inventing skills."

Lily smiled. "You know Hermione's only looking out for the poor young first years that you seem so keen to use for your own gains."

"Yeah, well they're the only ones that will actually try our stuff, besides us of course."

"I'll give them a try, if you want me to," Lily offered. "I don't mind. It would give me an excuse to get out of Umbridge's class."

George laughed. "She that bad is she?"

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Just you wait. Today, you'll see exactly what I am talking about."

Both boys groaned and turned their attention back to their lunch. Lily finished eating quickly and stood up.

"Where are you going?" George mumbled through a mouthful of toast.

"I have Care of Magical Creatures today, and I don't want to be late." She leaned over and placed a kiss on George's cheek. He smiled and gave her a wave as she walked outside.

It was now the second day of term, and Lily hadn't seen Hagrid around at all. She didn't know the man very well, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione were very good friends with him, and his disappearance was taking its toll on them. Especially Harry. Normally, Lily would have felt the same as Harry did, but she had to admit, this Grubby-Plank woman sure did know her stuff.

"Pass me the paper," Lily instructed Neville. He smiled nervously at her as he eyed the bowtruckle sitting before him. Lily reached forward and snatched the paper from him, a little too roughly.

"For goodness sakes Neville, it won't hurt you."

"How do you know that? Professor Grubby-Plank said they could gouge your eyes out with their fingers."

Lily sighed. She really had to watch her temper. "Sorry Neville, I didn't mean to snap at you. Here," she offered the paper to him. "Would you like to draw it?"

Neville smiled at her. "Sure. Yeah, I'll do that." He took the paper back from her and excitedly dug through his bag for a quill.

Lily watched as the creature slowly began to take shape.

"Wow, Neville. That's really good."

He beamed at her. "Thanks Lily. I got really good at sketching things because I do it for Herbology all of the time."

"I can see. I would never have guessed that you were that good of an artist."

"It's not that good," Neville said as he put the finishing touches on the picture. Before he could even blink, Lily had snatched it from him and rushed over to Professor Grubby-Plank.

"Professor?" Lily asked innocently, though she knew Neville could hear her. "What do you think of this picture that Neville drew?" Many of the students turned to stare at either her or Neville. Lily smirked as the professor looked over the piece of paper.

"This is most excellent," she said as she handed the paper back. "Ten points to Gryffindor."

The Gryffindor students broke out into applause and Neville turned the same color as his tie. Lily ignored the puzzled look the teacher gave her as she skipped back over to her friend.

"Thanks," he muttered as he took the drawing back and began to diagram the different parts of the creature. Lily smiled as she watched him. He was so shy, but still was really talented when it came to nature.

Her attention was grabbed by a pair of loud giggles from behind her. Lily turned around to see Parvati and Lavender looking at her. When they noticed she had caught onto them, they quickly looked away. Lily rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Neville. He had just finished up their homework and was tucking it away in his bag.

"Oh, sorry Neville. I didn't even help you with that."

Neville turned towards her and smiled. "Sure you did. You gave me a reason to believe in myself. That was more than enough."

_Maybe this year won't be so bad_, Lily thought as she headed back up to the castle for charms class. Things were starting to look up.


	46. Author's Note

A/N: Hey guy! Sorry to dissapoint you , but this isn't a new chapter. I just wanted to let you all know that I've gone back and revisited this story recently. There are some parts of it that I really like and am really proud of, and other parts where I think "Why the hell would I write something like that?". But, I guess that's the life of a writer.

Looking back at some of your comments, I realize that Lily does have a lot of Mary-Sue qualities and that bugs me (thanks to all who pointed that out!). However, I was only 16 when I first started writing this, and had very little experience. I believe I've grown a lot in the past year or so, and I really would like to give this another shot. But at this point in time I'd rather finish up the story as best I can, and _then_ go back and do some damage control.

I'm currently working on the next chapter, and I promise I'll have it up soon. If any of you are still with me, I want to say thank you. I hope I can finish out this story to the end and hopefully gradually start to eliminate Lily's Mary-Sueness. Again, I appologize for that. It'd be totally awesome if those of you who mentioned her Mary-Sueness could tell me some of her characteristics that really bothered you. That way I know what I should focus on. Thanks in advance!

I'm ready to give this another go! So let the writing begin!


	47. Chapter 47

A/N: Ok, I'm back! I know it's been a long time, and I hope you all can forgive me for that. I kind of have a plan for up until the end of book 5, and I really like it so far. So hopefully you guys do to. Oh, and just to let you know, I changed one thing in a previous chapter, 39 I believe it was. I read your reviews, and you guys were right. Snape would never have told Lily his whole life story. So I changed that scene up. Lily no longer knows his history as a death eater and why he joined the good side and she knows nothing about the prophecy. So far, that's all I've gone back and changed. I'll probably go back later and change a few other scenes, but that one really needed to go now. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own HP.

Chapter 5

"She's been WHAT?" Lily nearly shouted as she listened to Fred and George's conversation on the way from charms to lunch.

"Yeah. Umbridge has been promoted to 'High Inquisitor' whatever that is. Apparently now she's been given the power to evaluate the teachers and see how well they are doing."

"She might even be allowed to sack them," Fred put in as the trio sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"This is so messed up," Lily growled as she took a grilled cheese sandwich from the pile in the middle of the table.

"Yeah, it is," George agreed. "But be careful around Umbridge. You don't know what she could do to you. Harry's already missed three Quidditch practices because the toad has given him detention every night."

"I'm not afraid of her."

Fred and George exchanged a look and went back to eating their food. After knowing Lily for five years, they knew when it was best to leave her alone. This was one of those times.

After lunch was over, Lily said her goodbye's and headed outside to Care of Magical Creatures. Her mood soured even more as she noticed one short, fluffy, pink witch, standing off to the side with a clip board.

"Keep a hold of your temper," Hermione hissed at her when she noticed Lily's expression. Lily grunted at her, but offered no further reply. She joined Neville and the two began to observe the Bowtruckles once again.

"She seems to like Professor Grubby-Plank," Neville noted as he began to write down notes about their bowtruckle's behavior.

"She would like anyone who took Hagrid's place," Lily commented. Neville looked like he was about to say something, but he turned back to look at the bowtruckle instead.

"As much as I may not like to," Lily continued, guessing at what Neville had wanted to say, "I have to say, I agree with her on that one. As a person, Hagrid is great, but he's not really gifted as a teacher."

Neville looked at her and smiled. "Yeah. I really like Professor Grubby-Plank a lot. With her teaching, I do really well in this class, but with Hagrid, well, I find it a bit harder."

Lily placed her hand on his shoulder. "I understand Neville." Her attention was caught by Umbridge, who was now prowling around the class, stopping to ask some of the students questions.

She stopped at Lily's table and looked at Neville, who was too preoccupied to notice her arrival.

"Hem hem," she said, clearing her throat. Neville looked up at her startled. "Excuse me, Mr…"

"Longbottom."

"Mr. Longbottom, so you find that you enjoy this class."

Neville nodded nervously. "Yes, I do. I learn a lot, and I'm good at it. Professor Grubby-Plank is a really good teacher."

Umbridge smiled. Lily was surprised when she scribbled something down on her clip board, and walked away. She thought there would be more questions . She watched as Umbridge walked back over to Professor Grubby-Plank. Her voice was too soft for Lily to hear at first, but as she turned to Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, her voice rang loud and clear.

"Now, I hear there have been injuries in this class?"

Draco was grinning widely. Lily had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She did not like the way things were going.

"That was me," Draco said smugly. "I was slashed by a Hippogriff."

"A Hippogriff?" Umbridge started scribbling madly on her clipboard. Lily looked over at Harry, who looked like he was going to burst. She shot him a look and shook her head, warning him not to say anything. A sudden idea came to her mind and she stood up.

"It was tragic, really," she said in a sincere tone, or as sincere as she could make herself sound. Draco shot her a look filled with surprise which quickly turned to one of smugness. "He had to go to the hospital wing. We were all very worried about him."

"Really?" Umbridge asked, the false concern evident in her voice. She turned to Draco. "That sound's dreadful. I hope you didn't have any permanent damage."

"Well," Draco began, "It did hurt for a long time. I couldn't play Quidditch for months. But I healed eventually."

Umbridge nodded, clearly uninterested. She then turned back to Lily. "Miss Rain. Would you mind following me back to my office?"

Lily smiled at the toad-like woman, shoving her irritation back down. She would not lose her temper. "Absolutely, Professor."

Lily quickly packed up her things and followed the woman back into the castle and up into her office. The young Slytherin had to bite down hard on the inside of her cheek in order to stop herself from gaging. The walls had the ugliest pink floral wallpaper she had ever seen and almost every inch was covered with pictures of cats. And not even cute cats, but the ugly ones with the smushed faces or the ones without any hair.

"Please," the woman began in her sickeningly sweet voice. "Have a seat. I would like to have a word with you."

"What about, Professor?" Lily asked, slightly concerned. She hadn't lost control of her temper at all. Surely Umbridge couldn't be upset with her.

Umbridge smiled. "Oh, dear. This is nothing to worry about. I actually just wanted to say that I believe I was mistaken about you. I was wondering how a Slytherin such as yourself got mixed up with a bunch of Gryffindor trouble makers. But I see now that you are much brighter than that lot."

"Thank you," Lily said, surprised she was doing such a good job in controlling her anger. Why had it never been this easy before?

"Listen, Miss Rain, since my promotion as High Inquisitor, I have been thinking about promoting a certain group to help me keep the school in order. I think you would be a perfect addition. What do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea!" Lily said enthusiastically, hoping that the woman couldn't see through her as easily as Lily thought most should be able to. "What would you have me do?"

Umbridge smiled and Lily's heart twisted in her chest. This couldn't be good. "While the rest of the group, the Inquisitor Squad I think I'll call them, will be in charge of docking points and giving out detentions, I want you to be my little spy."

"Spy?" Lily asked curiously. This she might be able to work with.

"Yes, of course. You can keep pretending to be friends with those Gryffindors. I see now that there's no way a girl as bright as you could have been real friends with them. And you can tell me all their plans to make trouble. We'll be the perfect team."

Lily smiled sweetly. "That sounds like a wonderful idea," she stated. "You're so smart to have figured it out."

Umbridge was beaming and Lily took a mental note to use compliments in the future. "Excellent. I expect to hear from you soon. Those brats won't stay lying down for long. I'm sure they're up to something. You may go now."

Lily smiled and nodded her head. This was going to be interesting. It was time to brush up on her creative thinking skills. They were going to be needed if she was going to figure out a way to feed Umbridge information without getting her friends in too much trouble.


End file.
